The Power of Three
by Silver Lined Spero
Summary: Season 2 AU and on forth, starting from The Parting of the Ways. The Doctor waits for Captain Jack Harkness on the Game Station instead of leaving him stranded. How will things turn out differently, now that things are as it always should be: The Doctor, his Rose, and a flirting Jack Harkness? Will Rose get to spend her forever with the Doctor? Allons-y!
1. Prologue: The Parting of the Ways

**A/N: Basically, it's a rewrite with our favorite Captain Jack Harkness, spanning from Season 2 and onwards! My other fanfic, 'The Reunion Paradox', will be posted this Sunday. Enjoy!**

**Chapter One**

**Regeneration and Christmas Eve**

Jack gasped, his eyes flying open. Where was he? How could he be alive? He bolted upright and looked around, rubbing his eyes. The last thing he remembered was facing a malicious group of Daleks, aiming their stupid guns at him. And now… he shrugged helplessly, scooping up a handful of fine dust and letting it run through his fingers. He was absolutely clueless.

Maybe the Doctor did something?

Oh dear. His heart dropped as he finally remembered the Time Lord and his pink and yellow human, Rose Tyler. Rose was safe, that was certain; but the Doctor—?

No. That can't have happened. The Doctor should be alive and well, probably saving everyone, including Jack himself, again and laughing at the Dalek Emperor in its face, pulling fantastic tricks by his leather sleeve. He must…!

Jack groaned, hurriedly pulling himself from the ground. His body ached everywhere, and he was ankle-deep in Dalek dust, but he didn't care.

He _had _to find the Doctor.

Unaware of his newly gained immortality, the Captain began running—and the Doctor was waiting for him. He didn't abandon Jack. Not this time.

* DW * DW * DW * DW *

The Doctor swayed on his feet, and collapsed onto the floor. Despite the overwhelming fatigue and dizziness, he didn't forget to catch Rose Tyler before she hit the ground. The blonde girl was unconscious. He checked her pulse hastily; it was weak, but at least normal and stable. Not burning or anything, that was good. He let out a content sigh of relief, letting his arm drop. Rose was going to be okay.

But he wasn't. He only had a few minutes left to live—maybe ten, or less; then the pain would come, the cells would die out, organs would fail, and then… regeneration. He brushed off the gloomy prospect and got up, focusing on the task at hand. He gently scooped Rose up into his arms and took a step into the TARDIS.

That's when he felt a sharp jab of headache.

He almost dropped Rose's limp body from the sudden impact, but managed to put her down on somewhere safe before his hands slipped. Putting a hand to his forehead, he winced and staggered forth a few steps. No, this wasn't because of the Time Vortex killing him inside out. He could feel it. There was something unnatural, something _wrong_, and it _hurt_. It was like a walking fixed point in time. It was, it was—

_Jack. _

When Rose—no, the Bad Wolf—had brought the American Captain back to life, she didn't control her power very well. Now Captain Jack Harkness was an alive 'fixed point', and it felt so… so wrong. All his Time Lord instinct screamed at him to run run _run_, and he felt a sudden impulse to just close the doors and promptly leave.

But he couldn't. Jack had believed in him, _trusted_ him, when even he couldn't trust himself. He willingly sacrificed his life in the Doctor's name. The con-man was no more; he was one of the bravest, and most loyal, companions he had ever had. He was his friend.

To leave him stranded _here_ would be too cruel, unfit for the Name of the Doctor. He drew in a deep breath, persuading his legs—and his TARDIS—to stay still.

And so he waited.

* DW * DW * DW * DW *

Jack's eyes widened as he ran into the room. The Daleks were nowhere to be seen, and there was that familiar blue police box sitting right in front of his eyes, waiting for him. Better than he could have ever hoped for. But the question was… how?

"Doctor? Doctor!" He yelled breathlessly, throwing the door open and leaping into the console room. The time machine shuddered a little, but he didn't notice. Instead, he heard a familiar male voice greeting him from the console.

"You are late, Captain Harkness."

"Doctor!"

Jack spun around in surprise and amazement to see the Doctor staring at him with an expressionless face. He frowned, puzzled. No grin, no jokes, no nothing? Something was a bit off about that man. As Jack thought hard to figure things out, the Doctor turned around stiffly and pulled a lever. The TARDIS shook and groaned as it dematerialized into thin air. The Doctor pulled back, and slowly sank down into his seat—before suddenly jerking forward, doubling over and groaning in pain. Jack instinctively took a step forward.

"Doctor? What's happening? Why is the TARDIS back, and where did all the Daleks go?" HE paused. "Did you injure yourself or something?"

"Well, yeah. No, not really. Long story—just stay _away_ from me, Jack. Back, back, _back_! You are giving me a headache!"

The leather-clad Time Lord grimaced, still hugging his stomach tightly. Jack stared at him for a moment, then simply shrugged taking five steps back. That done, he spread his arms wide and asked casually.

"There. Better, Doc?"

"Nope!" The Doctor shook his head stubbornly, rubbing his eyes. "Look, Captain, did you black out when you were facing those Daleks, and then the next thing you know is that you are back to the world of living?"

"Yes. Exactly!" Jack nodded, feeling relieved all of a sudden. The Doctor knew something. He knew what happened. Maybe he could explain it to him…?

The Time Lord sighed, maneuvering the TARIDS into the Time Vortex. His guess was right, and he wasn't happy. Not really. Well, he was glad that Jack had lived, but like this… it would guarantee a permanent, throbbing, itching headache for him. That wasn't a very bright prospect.

Huh. Who knows. Maybe his next regeneration would be headache-resilient. He certainly hoped so, because it looked like he was going to be stuck with this American for a long time… perhaps all eternity.

So he turned to the Captain, who was stubbornly waiting with his arms crossed, and clapped his hands together, determined to make his explanation as short as possible. After all, Rose would be waking up soon enough, and he would never want her to know this.

"So, Jack, it all went like this. I didn't fire the weapon, because at the last moment, I realized that I'd rather be a coward than a killer. I already have too much blood on my hands… and I couldn't do it. Not again." His eyes darkened for a moment, but it was fleeting. He continued. "So there I was, facing the Daleks, ready to welcome death itself. After all, Rose was safe, and you were already dead."

"Wait. What?" Jack asked incredulously, motioning towards himself. "But I'm perfectly alive and well, and I don't think I'm a zombie!"

"Then a Goddess of Time came, saw everything, made the Daleks go back to dust. She saved me. And she brought you back to life, Jack. But she made a mistake. She accidentally fixed you onto a certain point in time, and that's what gives me a terrible headache— ah. Did I mention that you might be immortal?"

Jack stared at him, and then flashed a grin at him, as if the whole story amused him to no end.

"Huh. Goddess of Time and an Immortal Man? Isn't that a bit too melodramatic, even for you, Doctor?"

"We are all stories in the end," he replied, casually tinkering away with the console. "And mine tends to be a tad bit too dramatic, yes."

Jack's jaw dropped. "So you were actually serious? About time… immortality… and everything?"

The Doctor popped his lips. "Yup!"

"But then…" Jack frowned, letting out a long whistle. Immortality? That would be really weird. "Who brought the TARDIS back? And who on earth is that 'Goddess of Time'?"

"Rose."

Jack's heart leapt at the name in disbelief. Rose? But she was just a human! And not even a Time Agent. She was no Goddess of Time, at least the last time he had seen her. And yet, when he turned to see where the Doctor was motioning at, he could see her—peacefully sleeping, right here inside the TARDIS. He stared incredulously at her, and then turned back to the Doctor.

"Is she okay?" He blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

The Doctor shook his head, his ever-present frown softening a bit.

"She absorbed the heart of the TARIDS. Became a goddess of Time," he said. "But she was a human, and couldn't survive—not when the power was in her. It would have burned her."

Jack inhaled sharply and ran over to Rose's side. He snatched up Rose's wrist, and both were immensely relieved—and confused—when he found a strong, regular pulse. He arched his eyebrows at the Doctor, grinning cheerfully.

"Doctor, what did you do?"

"Oh, just absorbed the energy myself and gave it back to the TARDIS. She will be fine," he shrugged dismissively. Jack, however, didn't miss the implication right beneath that sentence. He didn't drop his stare as he spoke very, very slowly.

"Doctor, you said that it almost killed her. But… what about you?"

"What are you talking about?" The Doctor shrugged again, but still averted his eyes from Jack's steadfast gaze as he drummed on the console with his fingers. He looked a bit guilty, and Jack caught it. He narrowed his eyes.

"Doctor… tell me the truth. Can _you_ absorb the Time Vortex without any damage?"

"…Nope." The Doctor popped his lips again, shaking his head and smiling sadly. "It's me that's dying."

Jack's heart almost stopped at this casual comment. He had had his suspicions and doubts, but still, to have it confirmed by the Doc's own lips—

"But don't worry, I have my ways! Time Lord stuff!" The Doctor jumped up, walking over to the shocked former con-man and patting him on the shoulder rather merrily. He exhaled loudly, stretching his arms. "Ah—mental barriers! _Now_ it feels better, Mr. Fixed Point. And our big Bad Wolf is waking up, too, I think. Fantastic! Just shut your mouth, Jack, and wait to see what happens."

Jack Harkness looked around just in time to see Rose stir. She mumbled something in an unclear voice, and finally, her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a set of familiar hazel eyes. Jack could help but feel so incredibly happy as she pushed herself upright.

"What happened?" She asked, in a rather groggy voice.

"Don't you remember?" The Doctor eyed her curiously. She shook her head, thinking hard to remember, but apparently coming up with nothing.

"It's like… there was this singing," she said at last. The Doctor grinned.

"That's right. Jack and I sang a song together and the Daleks ran away."

"I'm a good singer," Jack piped up. The Doctor gave a warning glance at the flirting man.

"Oh, be quiet."

"Not a chance."

Rose was still frowning, in spite of their cheerful bickering and jokes. Finally, she went on, her eyes fixed on something they couldn't see.

"I was at home. No, I wasn't, I was in the TARDIS, and there was this light. I can't remember anything else."

The Doctor was silent for a moment as he watched her intensely, as if he wanted her to be the last thing _those_ eyes saw. Jack glanced at him, and his heart sank as he noticed that the Time Lord's skin was darkening. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he could see that it was time.

Sighing, the Doctor leaned forward.

"Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness. I was going take you to so many places. Barcelona. Not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place. They've got dogs with no noses. Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny."

Rose frowned again, this time because she was puzzled. "Then, why can't we go?"

"Maybe you will, and maybe I will." He paused for a moment. "But not like this."

"You aren't making sense, Doc," Jack said in a quiet voice. The Doctor rubbed his hands together, grinning.

"Oh, shut up, Jack. And don't say that I don't make sense. Not now. I might never make sense again. I might have two heads, or no head. Imagine me with no head. And don't say that's an improvement. But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're going to end up with."

Suddenly, he doubled over in pain again. Alarmed, Rose and Jack bolted forward.

"Doctor!"

"Stay away, you two!" The man hollered, making them stop right in their tracks. Perplexed and worried, Rose shouted in a pleading voice.

"Doctor, please tell me what's going on!"

"I…" A hesitation. Then he continued. "I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex, and no one's meant to do that. Every cell in my body's dying."

"Oh no." Her hand flew to her mouth in silent horror. "Can't you do something?"

The Doctor laughed drily. "Yeah, I'm doing it now. Time Lords have this little trick, it's sort of a way of cheating death. Except it means I'm going to change, and I'm not going to see you again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face. And before I go…"

"Don't say that," Jack murmured quietly. The Doctor glanced at him, and Jack was surprised to see that those eyes were neither accusing nor annoyed; they looked so old, so sad. Then that stupid smile again.

"Oh, Rose, Jack. Before I go, I just want to tell you— you two were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic!"

Rose watched him, her lips pursed tight. Jack glared, just wanting to punch that man's face, nice and proper. Pretending to be unaware of their worried, serious looks, the Doctor asked again, tilting his head in a mock seriousness.

"And you know what?"

She shook her head. He flashed a toothy grin.

"_So was I!_"

Happy to see that the faintest of smiles had made its way onto the lips of Rose and Jack, he smiled, wider than ever before. _This is it, _he thought, feeling content. _I'm ready. It's starting._

All of a sudden, he convulsed and erupted into a thundering rush of golden light, exploding in it, screaming silently as every one of his cells changed, and _oh_, so much _life_ and _energy _was madly coursing through his veins, rewriting and renewing everything! Orange energy exploded from his skin, blasting out of the neck of his jumper, the sleeves of his jacket and the bottoms of his trousers. Rose and Jack involuntarily staggered backwards, shielding their eyes from the amazing rush of heat and light—but they couldn't look away. Of course not.

They stared, transfixed, as gradually, the Doctor's hair lengthened, his face changed... until as abruptly as it had started, the process ended. The golden light had just died away like it had never been. Looking slightly disoriented, a new man was staggering in the place where the Doctor had been, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape in surprise. He was still wearing the old Doctor's leather jacket and everything.

He stood there for a moment, before turning to look at Rose and jack.

"Hello! Okay—ooh."

He gulped. They stared at him with shock and fascination as he ran a tongue over his teeth, brow furrowed.

"New teeth. That's weird. So, where was I? …Oh, that's right!"

Rose just stared at him with undisguised shock, and Jack was speechless. Regardless of their not-so-welcoming reaction, the newly regenerated Doctor flashed a merry grin at them.

"Barcelona!"

Their adventures were just starting.

**A/N: If you like this and/or want this story to continue, please review! :)**


	2. Children In Need

**Chapter 2**

**Children in Need**

The skinny, brown-haired man dashed to the console and flicked a few switches, checking the monitor.

"6 PM… Tuesday…"

Rose watched, half concealed by a pillar. Jack was watching, too, and silently processing quite a few calculations in his head as the new man— still dressed in the old Doctor's leather jacket— danced around the control panel and turned a knob.

"October… 5006… On the way to Barcelona!"

He straightened up and faced Rose, a goofy grin stretched across his face.

"Now then… what do I look like?"

"Pretty," Jack automatically replied, without giving much thought to it. Rose, who was too shocked and scared to understand the whole situation, choked out a laughter, and the stranger's eyes widened in horror.

"I'm a girl?" He squeaked, and his hand immediately flew to his neck. He sighed in relief as he felt his Adam's Apple under his fingers. He glared at Jack. "No, not a girl. And don't say another word, Captain Harkness. No, no, no, no, no… Hmm, let's see… two legs, two arms, two hands."

He briefly tested his wrist, circling it.

"Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle."

Then the hand flew to his head, and he yelped in delight.

"Hair! I'm not bald!"

Bringing his hands back down, he stroked his sideburns, grinning.

"Sideburns, I've got sideburns! Or really bad skin. Little bit thinner…"

The new man slapped his own stomach. _Oh, this was just getting weirder and weirder. _

"That's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it!"

And then, suddenly, he scrunched his face in deep concentration, as if he had just been hit by a most wonderful revelation.

"I… have got… a mole. I can feel it." He rotated his shoulder, dramatically pausing between sentences. "Between my shoulder blades… there's a mole. That's all right, love the mole!"

Abruptly flashing a cheeky grin, he jumped forward. Jack rolled his eyes. Rose flinched, looking a bit scared.

"Go on then, _now_ tell me, you two!"

The stranger cocked his head in anticipation, and a smug smirk appeared on his lips. He shrugged, motioning at himself. "What do you think?"

"Who are you?" Rose blurted out. The man, seemingly unaware of his incredibly ruffled hair, took a step back, with a startled and utterly confused look on his face.

_But… I am the _Doctor!_ How can she say that to me? _He thought, incredulously. Didn't she see it? Didn't she see him change into a new man, right in front of her—and Jack's—eyes? He took a deep breath, trying to calm down the boiling remnants of his regeneration energy. They were responding to his shaken feelings, jostling in his veins and threatening to break his madness loose.

_No. Don't. Don't feel hurt. Don't scare Rose,_ he sternly told himself. Regeneration could be quite a culture shock, happens to the best of people.

So— all these thoughts had crossed his mind in less than a millisecond— he looked straight into her eyes, steering himself to prepare for an explanation. He opened his mouth, about to say _I am the Doctor_ in a matter-of-fact voice, when, suddenly— Jack spoke up from behind.

"He _is _the Doctor."

The Doctor's jaw dropped, and Rose whipped around, shocked. Jack was standing there, arms crossed, eyes carefully scrutinizing the other man. Finally, a charming grin made its way onto his face.

"_Aaand_ sexy, I see." He added. Instantly, the Doctor scrunched his nose and leapt back in horror. Stumbling, he pointed at the Former Time-Agent and started spluttering in his most disapproving voice.

"You, you… Captain-_I-Will-Flirt-With-Everything-That's-Within-My-Eyesight_-Harkness!" He stopped for a moment, his furious expression melting into that of wonder and pleasure. "Ooh. This me is a fast talker, huh? Didn't know that!"

"Jack," Rose pleaded, looking both scared and lost at the same time. She grabbed Jack's wrist. "Jack, what happened? The Doctor—our Doctor—where is he?"

"Oh, Rosie," Jack replied, his voice soft. Gently, he patted her shoulder, and continued. "It's _him._ He _is_ the Doctor."

Rose shook her head in disbelief. "No… no, he can't be."

"But the Doctor, he's an alien, don't you see?" Jack grinned. "Really, Rose, does it surprise you _that_ much that the Doctor can explode into golden flames and turn himself into a pretty boy, while cheating death at the same time?"

"Oi!" The Doctor scoffed, obviously offended by Jack's comment. "I'm not just any alien, I'm a Time Lord! And the process is called _regeneration, _thank you very much!"

"But…" Rose looked more skeptic than scared now. That was good, the Doctor thought. Situation improved. He had to (rather grudgingly) give Jack credit for that. "But… it can be anything. Nanogenes, Gelth, Slitheen… Oh my god, is he a Slitheen?"

"I'M NOT!" The insulted Time Lord roared, aghast. Jack couldn't help but laugh, thinking of those weird, alien-y, green… well, aliens. Oh god, no. _This_ alien looked much foxier than that! He shook his head, smiling at Rose.

"No, Rose. He's really our Doctor. Look. Remember him saying something about dying? A Time Lord trick to cheat death? Rose, maybe that involved face-changing. Alien stuff."

"How… how can you be so sure?" Rose looked like she was about to cry. "Did you know? Know that this was going to happen?"

"No, but I saw it. I saw him standing there, saying that he can't see us with the daft old face of his anymore, saying that he has to change. And WHAM! What happens? A new man appears in his place, wearing the same clothes!"

Jack motioned at the spiky, brown-haired man, who quietly shook his hand at Rose from behind, as if to say, 'Yes, that's me!' The American promptly ignored him and continued.

"He claims to be the Doctor, he knows our names—who we are—and he tinkers with the TARDIS like no one else does, he know that I have a tendency to flirt with many people. He doesn't know what he looks like, he's going all quirky, and he is obviously madly in love with you. So, yes, I am pretty sure that he's the Doctor."

Rose's eyes widened slightly at this. The Doctor's jaw dropped open, too, when Jack mentioned the 'madly in love' part. However, before he could utter a single protest, Captain Jack Harkness had already turned to face him, a mock-innocent smile on his face.

"Oh, by the way, _Doctor,_" he paused, emphasizing the 'Doctor' part. Then he continued, smiling. "Does this ring a bell for you— _'Are you my mummy'_?"

_Oh._ The Doctor hesitated, frowning. This was a test. A test, demanding that he showed who he really was to Rose and Jack.

_Very well, then. _

Grinning, he leaned forward. "Oh, of course, Captain Con Man. I believe there were gas-mask-wearing, mummy-craving zombies stalking a twentieth century London. They were actually people infected by nanogenes, but we cured them all— now, that was a good day! On that day, no one died. And, oh, Rose—"

He suddenly turned to Rose, staring straight into her eyes, his gaze intent and brimming with unspoken, strong emotions.

"We danced," he whispered, his voice quiet. He stepped closer reached out to hold her hand, still staring into her eyes. "You taught me the moves, and we danced, you and I. But long before that, we learned to run. That was the first thing we learned to do together, right? And it was, oh, such a long time ago… trapped in that cellar. Surrounded by shop window dummies. I took your hand…"

He leaned forward, and finally took her hand, just like he did when Rose had first asked who he was. Rose glanced briefly down at their joint hands and then back up at his face, her brown eyes wide. The Doctor continued.

"I said one word… just one word. The very first word I ever said to you was…"

His breath tickled her ears as his voice dropped even lower.

"'_Run'."_

Rose's heart skipped a beat.

"It's you," she whispered back in awe, looking up into his brown eyes, her own full of tears. "It's really, really you!"

He grinned. "Hello."

Laughing, he suddenly pulled Jack and Rose into a tight embrace, joyously twirling them around the console room.

"Honestly, it's me! I was dying! To save my own life, I changed my body, every single cell. But you know what? The wonderful thing is, it's still me! The Doctor!"

"Doctor!"

They started laughing with him, a bit tearfully, in joy and relief. Just like they used to do. Just as it should be. And that felt good. So good, in fact, that he could ignore the persistent headache that came from Jack's… wrongness. The Doctor let go, still chuckling, and took off to the other side of the console.

"And we never stopped, did we? All across the universe. Running, running, running…" He flicked a few switches on the console. "One time we had to hop. Do you remember? Hopping for our lives!"

He hopped madly up and down on the spot. Rose just rolled her eyes, out of breath to say anything. Jack chuckled. The Doctor's face lit up in delight at their reaction.

"Yeah? All that hopping? Remember hopping for your live? Yeah?! Hop? With the…"

"Yeah, maybe we did. But where was that?" Jack inquired, out of curiosity, unable to place the memory. The Doctor's hopping subsided as he scrunched his face in deep concentration. He hesitated for a moment before his head snapped back up, eyes sparkling like a child.

"The Christmas Planet!"

"Oh, yes, now I remember! The Christmas Planet!"

"With a country named Tokyo on it, not the city!"

"Tokyo, yes!"

"And speaking of Christmas…" The Doctor sped to the console, giddy with excitement. "Cancel Barcelona. Change to… London… the Powell Estate… ah, let's say the 24th of December. Consider it a Christmas Present, Rose! Ha-ha! There!"

He stepped back, grinning. The TARDIS shuddered as it changed direction. Rose edged slowly over to the console, looking hopeful.

"I'm going home? To see my mum?"

"Yup!" The Doctor popped the 'p' with his lips. "Back to your mother. It's all waiting. Fish and chips, sausage and mash, beans on toast— No, Christmas! Turkey! Although… having met your mother, nut loaf would be more appropriate."

Rose smiled. The Doctor looked exuberant at that. He opened his mouth, perhaps to say something quirky, another joke regarding Jackie Tyler perhaps, but he didn't get to say anything. He suddenly gagged as the TARDIS shuddered. Rose looked at him questioningly, while Jack suddenly found himself staring to be concerned.

"What?" Rose asked.

"I mean, your mother—" He gagged again, more violently this time. He shot forth, making nasty retching noises. A fleeting look of panic crossed his face, as he muttered to himself. "Uh-oh."

"Doctor, are you all right?" Jack asked quickly, coming forth. The Doctor held up a hand to stop his approach, and a piece of golden energy issued from his mouth, swirling upwards and disappearing. His jaw hung open for a few seconds as he stared at it, dazed. Rose looked surprised.

"What was that?"

"Oh… the change is going a bit wrong and all. Gah!" He gagged again. He fell to his knees, his face contorted. He felt a little panic streak across his mind. _Oh, this isn't going to be pleasant at all. Neural implosion…_

"Jack, can you help him?" He heard Rose's desperate voice. _Sweet Rose, beautiful Rose. _He heard the Captain's voice reply, sounding quite urgent.

"Maybe. I will have to check his pulse first."

…_Whatever._

"Oh, you know nothing!" He said impatiently, shooting up. A lever on the console suddenly caught his eye. He murmured, musing to himself. "I haven't used this one in years, huh."

He flicked it. The TARDIS shuddered violently and they were all nearly knocked off their feet. Rose stared at the Doctor, her voice rising in panic.

"What are you doing?!"

The Doctor whooped in delight, laughing crazily. "Putting on a bit of speed! That's it! My beautiful ship, come on! Faster! Faster! That's my girl!"

Rose looked distinctly alarmed. The Doctor started sounding violent, crazed, more and more.

"Faster! Want to break the time limit?!"

"Stop it!" Jack hollered, looking alarmed as he gripped the console tighter. "You are going to hur Rose!"

"Ah, don't be so dull—let's have a bit of fun! Let's rip through the Vortex!" The Doctor said breathlessly, letting out a crazed laughter. His eyes caught Rose's for a moment. Suddenly, reason flicked back into the brown pupils, and his voice strained for a moment, his face clenched in pain.

"The regeneration's going wrong. I can't stop myself. Jack, protect Rose if I—"

He grimaced in pain.

"Ah, my head…"

He violently sprung back up into the standing position, and his voice had gone back to the madman's.

"Faster! Let's open those engines!"

The Cloister Bell started ringing. Jack started to have a bad feeling about this. Some kind of… danger. The Doctor's voice echoed in his head. _Protect Rose_, he had said. Snapping his head back up and grasping Rose's wrist, just in case, he hollered over to the Doctor, the crazy one.

"What's that?"

The Time Lord leaned over and laughed, sounding delighted and manic at once.

"We're gonna crash land!"

"Well then," Rose shouted, sounding angry and scared now. "Do something!"

"Too late! Out of control!" His voice shot up hysterically. He ran around the console, giggling and jumping. "Oh, I love it! Hot dawg!"

"You're gonna kill us!"

"Oh, me? NEVER!" The Doctor hopped in the air excitedly. "Hold on tight, here we go!"

Jack and Rose exchanged brief glances.

_What do you think, Jack?_

_I'm going to punch him, once he regains his marbles._

_Me too. And quite possibly, mom will join in. _

_Wow. I'll look forward to that. If we survive this._

_If we survive. _

They quietly reached an agreement, and looked back up across the console. The Doctor was grinning madly at them. He laughed out loud.

"Christmas Eve!"

This was going to be their wildest ride _ever_. And that wasn't a good thing, Jack thought. It never was. But then, he didn't have much of a choice. So he did what he thought was second best in this situation.

He laughed along, his grip on Rose's wrist tightening.

"Okay— here we _Gooooo_!"

A/N: The Third Chapter will come up next week! Thanks for all your love! Read and Revies :)


	3. The Christmas Invasion: Part One

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! I had a busy time at school these days… :) Thank you for waiting and please enjoy! Allons-y!**

**Chapter 3**

**Christmas Invasion: Part One**

"Doctor!"

Jack hollered as the TARDIS rocked dangerously, speeding through the Vortex at a mad speed. The Doctor was happily laughing out loud, like a kid wreaking havoc in a toy store. Rose was almost thrown off her feet from the momentum as the time-traveling police box abruptly changed directions. Luckily, Jack grabbed her arm just in time and prevented the possibly lethal accident.

"Faster! Faster!" The Doctor chanted, too excited to pay attention to them. Rose seemed a bit dazed, stumbling and trying to have a harder grip on the console. Jack shot a sharp glare at the childish, half-crazed Time Lord and muttered a quiet curse under his breath for the first time after the regeneration process, patting Rose's back in order to calm her down.

"Dammit," he shook his head, gritting his teeth. He certainly didn't want to test his possible immortality right now. And poor Rose wasn't even _'possibly immortal'_, Bad Wolf or not! He just hoped that the Doctor would stop before he either died in a random crash or decided to run over and give the alien a well-deserved punch in the jaw.

Captain Jack's train of thoughts was abruptly cut off as the TARDIS suddenly popped out of the vortex midair and collided into one block of flats, a second and a third, sending bone-rattling impacts through his bones. The blue police box avoided a post office van and crashed into a set of waste bins, finally coming to a halt.

The Doctor was the first to recover from the crash landing. Panting like an excited puppy, he bounded away to the TARDIS door, still in his T-shirt and leather jacket. Rose, her blonde hair all ruffled and sticking up on all ends, warily got up from behind the console and peered over Jack's shoulders.

"Looks like we made it out alive," she commented, looking all too confused to express what she was truly feeling at the moment. "You are sure he's… the Doctor, right, Jack?"

"Yup!" He answered, shrugging and stumbling in a difficult attempt to get up onto his feet and help Rose steady herself at the same time. After a moment's hesitation, he added.

"I'm not sure why his mental decided to go on a vacation all of a sudden, though."

"Well, I'm already missing it. His mental." A ghost of a smile floated onto Rose's lips as she remembered the Doctor, this new Doctor, swinging her and Jack around the console in joy, laughing. That had been quite _him._

"Me too," Jack nodded, and winced as he heard the Doctor throw open the door and loudly started greeting Jackie and Mickey, who happened to be standing right in front of the TARDIS doors.

"Ha! Here we are then, London. Earth. The Solar System. We did it, Jack, Rose! I told you, no need to fret! And look who's here. Jackie, Mickey. Blimey!" The Doctor grinned like a lunatic and leapt onto the street, putting his arms around the two of them. Then he abruptly backed away, shaking his hands, his voice rising in deep concentration and bubbling excitement.

"No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there. I've got something to say. There was something I had to tell you, something important… what was it? No, hold on, hold on. Hold on, shush, shush, shush, shush. Oh, I know!" A huge smile lit up his face as he figured out what he had wanted to say all along. Panting breathlessly, he announced—

"Merry Christmas!"

With that, he simply collapsed onto the ground. Jackie and Mickey stared at his still form, looking more baffled than ever. Jack and Rose chose that moment to poke their heads out of the TARDIS. Rose's eyes widened in alarm as she saw the skinny Time Lord sprawled out on the cold ground, unconscious.

"What happened? Is he all right?" She asked, out of breath with worry. Jack quickly stepped out and kneeled down in front of the Doctor, carefully taking the pulse between his fingers in a well-trained Time Agent manner as Mickey babbled on, bewildered.

"I don't know, he just kneeled over. But who is he? Where's the Doctor?"

Jack shrugged. "It's him, right in front of you. He's the Doctor. And Rose, don't worry. The pulse is quite steady, although we'd need a stethoscope to be sure. I bet it's just some kind of weird alien regeneration sickness."

Rose exhaled loudly in relief, while Jackie demanded to him, her voice rising. "What do you mean, that's the Doctor? Doctor who? And who on earth are _you?"_

_Wow, I see where Rose gets her occasional temper from, _Jack mused to himself. Then, looking up, he flashed a charming grin at the slightly angry blonde woman. Holding out a hand, he declared in his usual flirtatious voice.

"Hello, you must be Jackie Tyler— Rose said loads about you. The name's Captain Jack Harkness. I'm one of the best Time Agents from the 51st century, and I travel with the Doctor and your wonderfully charming daughter. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Jackie stared dumbly for a second. Under normal circumstances, with his 51st century pheromones and Jackie being Jackie, Captain Jack Charming would have been able to flirt with her in ease. But now just wasn't the time. It was cold, it was Christmas Eve, Rose had just come back from a life-or-death situation after months of absence, there was a dashing brown-haired man that claimed to be the Doctor knocked out unconscious at her feet, and now, he was flirting with her. Jackie Tyler could make neither head nor tail of it, and she was angry. So she did what first came to her mind.

She slapped Jack.

Jack stumbled back, his eyes wide from pain and shock. Rose almost burst out laughing, but stifled it as her mother turned towards her, her hands on her hips.

"Okay, now I see." Jackie declared in a firm voice. "You are alive, it's Christmas Eve, this guy is somehow the Doctor, and you have a mass flirter tagging along. Now, what do we do?"

***DWDW*DWDW*DWDW*DWDW***

The Tyler's flat— bedroom.

The Doctor had been dressed in stripy pajamas by a reluctant Mickey and an eager Jack, then put to bed. Rose sat at his side, carefully examining his looks. Jack stood a good few steps away, rubbing his sore cheek and muttering something under his breath. He flinched and glanced warily, as Jackie suddenly bustled into the room. She handed the stethoscope to Rose.

"Here we go. Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, a medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it. Though I still say we should take him to hospital."

Rose simply shook her head, putting the stethoscope to her ears. Jack shrugged and answered in her place.

"We can't. They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race."

Jackie was about to say something, but Rose— who had been listening to both sides of the Doctor's chest— chose that moment to put the equipment back down. She sighed in relief and smiled up at her mother.

"They are both working!"

Jackie frowned, puzzled again. "What do you mean, both?"

"Well, he's got two hearts," she explained, in a matter-of-fact voice. Jackie Tyler stared at her daughter for a split second, as if she had heard something utterly unbelievable, and then simply snorted and shook her head.

"Oh, don't be stupid," she scoffed. Rose jumped up from the bed, feeling offended.

"He has!"

Jackie seemed genuinely taken aback at her reaction, then glanced back at the sleeping Time Lord, eyeing him suspiciously. "Anything else he's got two of?" She turned back to face Rose and aske. Stepping forward, Jack didn't miss the chance to waggle his eyes and grin in a suggestive manner.

"Well yeah, I'd love to know, too, Rosie."

Rose coughed out a strangled laughter at this. Oh, she really shouldn't be getting these… inappropriate thoughts. Traveling with Jack Harkness had certainly made certain impacts on her personality. Her heart feeling much lighter than right after the 'regeneration process', she skipped out the room and beckoned her mother and Jack out, adding in a mock-annoyed voice.

"Oh, just leave him alone! Come on, I'm famished. Let's have something at the table. After all, it's Christmas Eve, isn't it?"

She grinned, sticking her tongue between her teeth. Jackie, clearly relieved to have her usual cheerful daughter back, smiled warmly at her before going out into the kitchen. Jack also took a step forth, following her out— but not before glancing back at the Doctor. His eyes widened momentarily. Wait. Did he just see… the Doctor exhale a puff of misty golden energy from his mouth, which then flew out of the window? He wasn't sure. Not really.

Scratching his head and frowning, he gave the alien a last good long stare. Nothing more happened. Hmm, must have been a fragment of his imagination. Shrugging off the thought, he exited the room without further hesitation and shut the door behind him. The room lapsed into a peaceful silence, save the Doctor's even breathing.

He was dreaming— dreaming about a planet inhabited by funny dogs with no noses, and a certain pink and yellow human. He couldn't really remember who she was, not when he was in the middle of a healing coma after a particularly violent regeneration process, but somehow, he was sure of that she was special. She was the one who made him smile.

A soft smile appeared on the unconscious man's lips. Again, he sighed out a waft of golden energy, letting it escape into space and far beyond. And at the same time, his befuddled, half-asleep brain came upon the perfect word he had been looking for. A beautiful, shining word. A word that would remind him how there was still so many wonderful things left to be seen in this entire universe. A word that stood for hope and salvation for him. A word that shone brighter than the stars.

"_Rose,"_ _he whispered._

***DWDW*DWDW*DWDW*DWDW***

_The Tyler's flat – kitchen._

Jackie brought Jack and Rose a bowl of chips. She put it down in front of them, and Rose dove into it gladly. Oh, blimey, how she was hungry! Munching, she glanced sideways and saw Jack pouring himself two glasses of cocktail and offering one the Jackie, this time without any flirtatious intentions— which was quite _something_.

Jackie received the glass and emptied it. Then, wiping her mouth, she started asking in a curious tone, this time directly to Jack.

"So, Captain, do you know how on earth he can go changing his face? Is that a different face or is he a different person?"

"Well, actually, I don't know much. In the 51st century, we do know about the Time Lords— but it's more of a legend, really. A campfire story for the Time Agents." He took another sip, deep in thought. Then he continued, motioning vaguely. "All I know is that his people have a certain way of cheating death. Didn't know that it would involve face-changing stuff, though. But I'm pretty sure that he is absolutely the same man on the inside." He nodded to Rose, rubbing his nose. "Wasn't it a bit hard on you?"

"Well, it certainly was a long day," Rose sighed, stretching out her arms and legs. "And I was quite shocked at first, too, mom. 'Cause, you know, people don't usually go exploding and changing all over when they are dying, do they? Freaked me out completely. Oh, I just keep forgetting that he's not human. The big question is—"

Rose paused, frowning up at her mom. "Where'd you get a pair of men's pajamas from?

"Howard's been staying over," Jackie said. Rose's eyes almost popped out in disbelief as she bolted up straight in her seat.

"What, Howard from the market? How long's that been going on?"

"A month or so. First of all, he starts delivering to the door and I thought, that's a odd. Next thing you know, it's a bag of oranges…"

"Is that Harriet Jones?" Rose interrupted her, abruptly distracted by a familiar woman making a speech in the television. Without much thought, she got up and went into the living room. Jack cast an apologetic wink at Jackie and rushed after her. Jackie Tyler groaned in annoyance.

"Oh, never mind me."

And she followed the two of them, too.

***DWDW*DWDW*DWDW*DWDW***

"Why's she on the telly?" Rose asked, eyeing the television curiously. Jackie shrugged dismissively. Oh, a lot of things did happen these days, and Harriet Jones being on television wasn't really one of the more surprising ones. But she started explaining, anyway— after all, Rose wasn't around much nowadays, and she did need to catch on.

"She's Prime Minister now. I'm eighteen quid a week better off. They're calling it Britain's Golden Age. I keep on saying my Rose has met her."

"Did more than that. Stopped World War Three with her." Rose grinned in pride and amazement. "Harriet Jones, Prime Minister!"

_Prime Minister, what about those calling the Guinevere One Space Probe a waste of money? _The man on the TV was asking, holding forth a microphone.

"Now, that's where you're wrong. I completely disagree if you don't mind." She replied without any hesitation, and Rose grinned. Oh, same old Harriet. She was always so polite, and yet so certain about what she was doing. "The Guinevere One Space Probe represents this country's limitless ambition. British workmanship sailing up there among the stars."

Jack nodded in approval. It didn't really surprise him that much. A single encounter with the Doctor could change you in so many ways, and he could see it in Harriet's eyes. The woman who led the Britain's Golden Age— how appropriate. Now, another person had appeared on screen and was speaking.

"This is the spirit of Christmas, birth and rejoicing, and the dawn of a new age, and that is what we're achieving fifteen million miles away. Our very own miracle!"

_The unmanned probe Guinevere One is about to make its final descent. Photographs of the Martian Landscape should be received by midnight tonight._

The TV switched off. They were blankly staring at the black screen when someone loudly knocked at the door. Without waiting for an answer, it burst open and Mickey the Idiot barged in, panting. He smiled and nodded at Rose.

"Wanna go shopping? It's Christmas, you know. Gotta buy some turkeys and stuff."

"Of course, I'm in!" Rose jumped up, flashing Jack her signature 'tongue-between-teeth' grin. "What about you, Jack? Do you want to join us?"

"No, not really. Don't want to be in between an old bickering couple. Enjoy your time, Rosie. I'll keep an eye on the Doctor."

Rose pondered for a moment, and then smiled again. "Thanks! I'll be back soon."

"Yup," Jack said, still smiling, and watched the door close. He quickly turned around and made his way to the Doctor's bedroom, grabbing a mug of hot tea. He wasn't really looking forward to having, like, an hour to himself with just a slappy Jackie Tyler in the house, but he couldn't really let himself leave the poor, unconscious Time Lord in her hands, either. One of the only reasons he stayed behind.

Sure, if something breathed, he flirted with it. If it didn't breathe, he still flirted with it. But a friend's mother with a scary inclination to slap your face if you said the wrong stuff was a different matter altogether.

Putting a mug of tea by the Doctor's bed, Jack turned around to hang up his World War II greatcoat— just in time to miss the sight of another wisp of golden energy escaping the Doctor's mouth.

***DWDW*DWDW*DWDW*DWDW***

Having nothing much to do—the Doctor's condition was pretty much the same— Jack idled away on a sofa, waiting for Rose to come back. Blimey, the 21st century telly was so unbelievably boring. He only wished that the Doctor would wake up soon. Twirling the empty cocktail glass in hand, he grinned to himself in amusement.

_Four hours ago, I was facing the Daleks all on my own; and now I'm doing the domestics. Life is certainly unpredictable around the Doctor, _he thought. At that very moment, the doorbell rang, and Jackie, who had been talking nonstop on the phone, stepped forward to open it. Jack inwardly groaned in disappointment when he saw that it was a simple Christmas Tree. _And I was hoping that it was Rosie._

"Oi, you! Come over here right now and move it in!" Jackie called out to him. "Use your charming futuristic muscles for something useful!"

"Yes, sir," Jack answered playfully, saluting the blonde woman. He hopped forward and carried the Christmas Tree into a corner of the living room. Rose and Mickey the Idiot must have ordered it, he thought. Strange. He never knew that Christmas Trees could be that heavy. He sighed and shrugged, sitting back down on the couch. Jackie was still chatting away on the phone.

"Oh, no. Don't come round, darling. No, flat's all topsy turvy. Yeah, she just barges in and litters the place. Yeah. No, I'll come round and see you on Boxing day. So, save us a chipolata."

And then, suddenly—

"Get off the phone!"

Rose and Mickey burst in, looking a bit disoriented and slightly panicky. Jackie looked up from the phone, looking annoyed.

"It's only Bev. She says hello."

Rose shook her head in disbelief. Her heart was still drumming frantically. "Bev? Yeah. Look, it'll have to wait. Right, it's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?"

"My mate Stan, he'll put us up," Mickey volunteered. Rose shook her head again, tugging her golden hair in frustration this time. Captain Jack Harkness slowly got to his feet, frowning. Something was wrong, his Time Agent side told him. Why? What had happened? What could possibly happen in London, Christmas Eve, 21st century?

_Oh yeah,_ he suddenly realized. Anything could happen when the Doctor was around.

"That's only two streets away! What about Mo? Where's she living now?" Rose shouted, obviously unaware of his distress.

"I don't know. Peak District?" Jackie said. Rose paused for a moment, seemingly calculating how far Peak District was. After a few seconds, she nodded in determination and announced.

"Well, we'll go to cousin Mo's then."

"No, it's Christmas Eve! We're not going anywhere! What're you babbling about?" Jackie retorted, eyeing her daughter incredulously and still holding her phone in hand. Jack took a step forward and placed his hand on Rose's shoulder, trying to make her calm down. She was almost hyperventilating, and that was never a good thing.

"Rosie, calm down. Your adrenaline is making me dizzy. What happened? Are you being chased?" He asked, his voice calm and serious. Rose didn't answer him. Instead, Mickey piped up, his eyes still wide in disbelief.

"We got attacked by crazy killer Santa brass band!"

"Yup. That's alien." Jack nodded. Since the Doctor was down and the enemy's capabilities were by far unknown, it would a wise move to run away. Wait, the Doctor! Could they be after him? Then all he could say was that it was a very bad thing.

He turned away, briefly reaching into his pocket to check his gun. He groaned in dismay when he found it empty. The Doctor must have sneaked the bullets away. Stupid of him! He didn't even have his squareness gun— it was on the TARDIS!

Rose, on the other hand, was wordlessly staring at the Christmas tree. It had just turned green. And she could swear that it wasn't there when she had left. She felt a strange, creepy sensation climbing up her spine. Slowly, slowly, she turned to her mom.

"Mum. Where'd you get that tree?"

They all turned to look. Rose continued. "That's a new tree. Where'd you get it?"

Jackie stared, looking confused. "I thought it was you."

"How can it be me?" Rose's eyebrows shot up.

"Well, you went shopping. There was a ring at the door, and there it was!" Jackie said, motioning at the tree with her free hand. Rose frowned.

"No, that wasn't me. Which means…"

"Then who was it?" Jackie demanded. "Who sent the tree?"

_Uh-oh._ Jack silently groaned, again, and pointed his empty gun at the tree. He could see what was coming, and he hoped that this would be better than nothing. Or maybe he could use some bananas. Letting his Time Agent side take over, he commanded in a firm voice.

"Everyone, get away from it. Right now."

Mickey and Rose complied, slowly taking a few steps back, but Jackie scoffed, clearly unimpressed. She crossed her arms and stood her place. "Oh, come on. What harm can a Christmas Tree do?"

As if giving her a reply, the tree lit up by itself and started playing Jingle Bells. Rose groaned in dismay when she saw sections of the tree starting to rotate in different directions, creating a strong wind.

"Oh, you're kidding me…"

It starts to move, chopping through a coffee table. Well, that was new. A killer, meat-grinding Christmas Tree. Jack clenched his teeth as he pulled the trigger and nothing came out. Turning around, he yelled.

"Get out! Go, go! Get out! Rose, go to the Doctor!"

Everyone ran to the door, but Mickey picked up a chair to fend it off. Jackie screamed.

"Mickey!"

The spinning tree began shredding the chair legs, and still, Mickey was standing there, his face distorted in a courageous, yet futile, effort to hold it off. Jack shook his head and ran over to grab him by the collar. Pulling the man out of danger, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Leave it! Get out! Didn't I tell you to get out of there? A wooden chair is useless!"

"Then, what do we need? What do we have right now?" Mickey said angrily. Jack pushed him into the Doctor's bedroom, where Rose and Jackie was already hiding, and slammed the door behind him. There was no hesitancy in his voice as he replied, pulling a wardrobe across the door.

"The Doctor."

Mickey stared at him incredulously. Jack searched the room for a weapon, any weapon. Anything to get rid of that blasted tree. And yet, he found none. Well, what kind of civilian would keep an axe or a squareness gun in their bedrooms? Another reason that the Doctor shouldn't be sleeping right now. He shook his head and cursed under his breath. Rose ran over to the coat hanger.

"Doctor, wake up!" She shouted. Pushing Jack's military greatcoat out of the way, she found the Doctor's jacket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver from its pocket. She ran back to the unconscious Time Lord and pushed it into his hand. The tree smashes through the door, shattering the wardrobe as if it was nothing

Cowering up against a wall, Jackie yelled in despair. "I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!"

Mickey backed away from the whirling tree, while Jack stood there, gritting his teeth. If there was nothing more he could do, well, then it must be the perfect time to test his newly gained immortality. Unaware of the intense situation, Rose bent over to speak into the Doctor's ear.

"Help me," she whispered.

The Doctor's eyes suddenly flashed open. He suddenly bolted up, aiming the screwdriver at the tree, making it explode. His dark brown eyes were as intense as an oncoming storm. After a brief pause, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Remote control. But who's controlling it?"

**A/N: Read and Review:) The more reviews, the faster the update! **


	4. The Christmas Invasion: Part Two

**A/N: Sorry for the late update :) Enjoy and review!**

**Chapter 3**

**The Christmas Invasion- Part Two**

The Doctor threw the dressing gown on, not even looking at Jackie, Mickey, Jack and Rose, who was watching him with their jaws hanging open. He had an air of urgency and intense concentration that no one dared to interrupt him—even Jackie, too. He rolled his sonic screwdriver in his hand once, and strode out of the flat. Rose and Jack quickly exchanged glances before hurrying after him. Mickey and Jackie followed, still looking dumbstruck.

The air was freezing, but the Doctor, in his jim-jams and dressing gown, didn't seem to mind. He came to a stop and paused, looking down. The four humans joined him and peered over the railing. Jack was quite amused to find three Santa's gazing back up at them, one holding a radio controller.

_That's new,_ he thought. Santa, trying to murder them with a Christmas tree and a PlayStation controller. Huh.

"That's them," Mickey blurted out loudly, pointing downwards. "What are they?"

"Shush!" Rose whispered, nudging him in the side. Jack snickered, and earned a sharp nudge, too. Jackie rolled her eyes, obviously not knowing what to make of their childish bicker. The Doctor still took no notice, however. He simply stared down at the three Santa's, and then aimed the screwdriver at them. Jack was surprised to see the Santa's simply back away. Then they vanished, beamed away to god-knows-where.

"They've just gone. What kind of rubbish were they?" Mickey scoffed in surprise, then glanced at the Doctor. "I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off."

Jack frowned. His 51st century Time Agent training and knowledge was kicking in. Those Santa's, they couldn't have just given up. But going away just like that…

And _then_ he realized.

"Pilot fish." He spoke out loud in astonishment. Rose glanced at him, frowning at the unfamiliar term.

"What?"

"Of course, they were just pilot fish! You know, Rosie, the little things that swim alongside the big shark. Scavengers. Sometimes they try to eliminate the defence, but they aren't built for fighting— mostly harmless. They're tiny. But the point is, if there are pilot fish, then something is coming. Something _big_." Jack paused, scrunching his nose in confusion. "But what would they come for? Earth?"

"Um, no," the Doctor said, shifting uncomfortably. "I think that it might be me."

"_You?" _They all turned around to stare at him. He nodded.

"The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. Regeneration energy. So they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of— _Oh!_"

His mouth suddenly dropped open, eyes wide in surprise as he stumbled backwards. Instinctively, Rose and Jack caught him before he hit the wall with his head. Even Jackie and Mickey reached forth in alarm as the Time Lord began to convulse in pain.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked worriedly, grabbing his shoulder. The Doctor whipped around and stared wildly at her, which alarmed her even further— his brown eyes were clouded in intense pain. His jaw quivered, and he took a huge gulp of air. Then the words came, rushed and strained.

"Rose, Rose, Rose, you woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy. I— Jack!"

Jack stepped forth in surprise as the Doctor's back arched, exhaling a thick cloud of golden energy. He groaned and spoke breathlessly, more to everyone rather than Jack alone.

"You see? Bad. This is very, very bad. Captain, how much have you heard of the Time Lords at the Time Agency? Have you heard about the regeneration sickness? —Oh, never mind! My head!" He spun around, reeling in pain. Jackie caught him as he almost crashed into the opposite wall.

The Doctor's body spasmed visibly as he gasped, over and over again, in order to breathe. Rose winced; the pain was almost palpable to all the beholders. A few tense seconds passed, and finally, in between the ragged breathing, he spoke up.

"I'm having a neuron implosion. I need—"

"Oh! Oh! Oh! What do you need?" Jackie cried out, distressed that she had no idea what to do. The Doctor stared intensely at her this time, and opened his mouth, his breathing going worse.

"I need—"

"Say it. Tell me, tell me, tell me."

"I need—"

"Painkillers?"

"I need—"

"Do you need aspirin?"

"Aspirin?! Time Lords are _allergic_ to aspirin! They are deadly! Instant suicide! Oh, never mind. I _need—"_

"Then what?! Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol?"

"I need—"

"Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"

Jack really knew that he shouldn't, but he couldn't help but feel more and more amused by this comic exchange. He could _literally_ see the Doctor going bonkers, partly because of Jackie's incessant mothering, and partly because of his inability to object. The eyes were becoming wilder and wilder, the gasps more sporadic from distress.

"I need—"

"Is it food? Something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"

And finally—  
><em>"I need you to shut up!"<em>

The Doctor managed to spit out, attempting to stand up and ending up falling back to the opposite side again. Mickey and Jack caught his body, while Jackie rolled her eyes incredulously.

"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?"

Rose would have laughed out of amusement, if not for the obvious pain on the Doctor's face. Worried, she stepped forward, and he immediately groped and held her hand, gasping like a fish. Beads of sweat were covering his forehead; tremors shook his fingers. He knew that he was going to zone out again, and this time, even his desperate urge to protect Rose wouldn't be able to wake him up.

"We haven't got much time," the Doctor said breathlessly, eyes wide. "If there's pilot fish, then… Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?" He asked, frowning, holding an apple in his sweating hand, the concentration diverted. Jackie shook her hand apologetically.

"Oh, that's Howard. Sorry."

"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"

"He gets hungry."

"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"

The Doctor asked incredulously, frowning. Jack groaned in annoyance— of course. Where would the Doctor's babbling and tackling go? But for God's sake, this wasn't the right time; it was going nowhere!

"_Focus,_ Doc," he muttered. The Doctor turned to glare at him, opened his mouth, probably to say something tart and nasty and rude, as this body was inclined to do— but was forced to stop as a sharp sensation of pain shot through his head, making him shut up.

Clutching his hair, he grimaced and gasped. He was _really_ running out of time.

"Argh… Brain collapsing! I need some superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin to heal my synapses, like, like, t— never mind. The pilot fish, you have to pay attention to it. The pilot fish mean that something, something, something is coming. Which means, which means…!"

The words rushed out as he grabbed Jack and Mickey by the clothes and dragged them close, so that he was breathing into their ears.

Jack Harkness was taken aback to see such desperateness, and above all, such _fierceness _in the Time Lord's eyes, even as his consciousness was slipping away. For a split second, their eyes met. And the Doctor whispered, the last remaining light disappearing from his pupils.

"You two… keep Rose safe while I can't. At _all_ costs."

His hands slipped.

The Doctor fell back onto the floor. He had lost his consciousness. Again.

**DW*DW*DW*DW*DW**

Rose put the suffering Doctor back to bed and mopped his brow. Jack watched her from afar, sitting in a comfortable chair, deep in thought. Mickey, who had gone somewhere, returned with a laptop in his hand. He shouted over his shoulders at Jackie.

"Jackie, I'm using the phone line. Is that all right?"

"Yeah. Keep a count of it. It's midnight. Christmas day. Any change?"

"He's worse," Rose replied, worriedly eyeing the Doctor. She nervously tugged at the stethoscope in her hand. "Just one heart beating. Jack, I'm, I'm afraid. I'm afraid for him, I mean. Will he wake up at all? What if he's dying?"

"Don't worry, Rosie." Jack said, getting up and walking up to Rose. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, the Doctor wouldn't have changed his face into something infinitely more foxy just to die on you."

"But, are you sure?" Mickey spoke up, scoffing. He crossed his arms and tilted up his chin. "I mean, is it really him? It's rather hard to believe that someone can go about changing his face when his _dying_—"

"Oh, shut up, you idiot." Jack snapped impatiently, and Rose was surprised to see that the usual playfulness was gone from the former Time Agent's eyes. Standing up, he continued in a fierce voice. "I _know_ that that man is the Doctor. It's absolutely _plain_ that it's him."

"Yeah, and how can you know that?" Mickey challenged. Jack glowered back, but his voice was calm and low as he gave a simple reply.

"Because he asked for Rose's safety, even when he was having a neural implosion."

Rose's hands flew to her mouth and her eyes widened. She had _seen_ him pull Mickey and Jack close, whisper something into their ears, and then faint again, but she had never imagined that even in those dire circumstances, all that the Doctor was able to think about wouldn't be the aliens, the Earth, but _her_…

If there was any doubt left in her mind before, it was gone now.

Rose swiftly turned away and hurried out of the room, brushing back her mother. Jackie hesitated in the doorway with laundry in her arms, not having heard their conversation. Confused, she was about to ask her daughter about what was going on— but then, she thought she saw something, perhaps a teardrop, glisten in her eyes. Was she crying?

According to Jackie Tyler's algorithm, Rose Tyler's tears meant that she had to choose between one of the two options. Give her a comforting hug, or let it pass. This seemed to call for the latter. So, after a moment of contemplation, she simply turned her attention to the TV. A reporter was on screen.

"_Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One space probe. They're expecting the first transmission from the planet's surface in the next few minutes._"

Rose wiped her eyes and quickly returned to sit beside Jackie as a bearded man came onscreen and started talking hurriedly.

"_Yes, we are. We're, we're back on schedule. We've received the signal from Guinevere One. The Mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success."_

"_But is it true that you completely lost contact earlier tonight?"_

"_Yes, we had a bit of a scare. Guinevere seemed to fall off the scope, but it, it was just a blip. Only disappeared for a few seconds. She is fine now, absolutely fine. We're getting the first pictures transmitted live any minute now. I'd better get back to it, thanks._"

Mickey and Jack came out of the room to watch TV with them. Rose flashed what she hoped was a carefree, 'Rose Tyler' grin at the two of them, so that she could at least loosen the tension.

"Look at you. After seeing all of time and space, you can't resist watching a boring Mars adventure?" She joked. Jack's face instantly lightened as he replied in a bright voice, shrugging.

"Just as the 20th century humans flocked in front of the TV to watch a man land on the moon. Historical moment."

"Ha-ha."

Uninterested in their bickering, Mickey stepped forth and frowned as the TV screen began to flicker and buzz. Something that looked like a white rock— or skull, to be more exact— loomed in and out of the view.

"Look!" He said, pointing at the screen.

"What? It's just funny sort of rocks," Jackie commented, completely oblivious.

"_The first photographs—_" The reporter started, not knowing what was about to happen, too. However, Rose shifted in her seat and frowned; just like Mickey, she could sense that something was very wrong.

"That's not rocks," she whispered. Jack's eyes hardened as he straightened his back. The reporter continued.

"_This image is being transmitted via mission control, coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning._"

The screen cleared. Jackie yelped in surprise, while Rose backed away in her seat, taken aback. It was an red-eyed ugly alien with a head like a goat's skull. It growled and gurgled at the screen. She felt a sudden chill run up her spine.

"_Pilot fish. It means something's coming_," the Doctor's voice rang in her ears, loud and clear.

**DW*DW*DW*DW*DW**

"Rose. Take a look. I've got access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, it's fast, and it's coming this way." Mickey spoke up, tapping his laptop. Jack was in the kitchen, looking for a cup of drink; Rose slowly made her way to Mickey. Her heart was heavy with worry.

_They might be coming for the Doctor,_ she thought fearfully. _Maybe, they are coming to get him, and I won't be able to stop them._

Jack came out of the kitchen, sipping some beer. Mickey, unaware of her thoughts, tapped the keyboard, getting a clear image of four of the aliens.

"Have you seen them before?" He asked curiously. Rose shook her head.

"No. Jack, any idea?"

"Nope. I'm a former Time Agent, not the Doctor, Rosie. I don't know the names of all those stuff out there," Jack said, shaking his head. Rose slumped in disappointment for a second, then perked back up when the alien leader started speaking in a rough, foreign language.

"What are they saying?" Mickey inquired again. She shrugged.

"I don't understand, Mickey. The Tardis translates alien languages inside my head, all the time, wherever I am. It isn't working now. It must be the Doctor. Like he's part of the circuit, and he's, he's not in his best mode right now. Okay?"

She turned around halfway, and gazed at Jackie. She had fallen asleep by the Doctor's bedside. She reached out to brush a few strands of hair away from her mother's eyes. Watching her, Mickey piped up, his arms crossed firmly.

"The Doctor wouldn't do this. The old Doctor, the proper big-eared Doctor, he'd wake up. He'd save us. There's an invasion coming, and all he says is 'Protect Rose. Something's coming'. So what can we do? Nothing. Yeah, fat lot of help that is."

"Oh, do shut up," Jack shot back angrily. "He _is_ the proper Doctor. Just give him a break— he almost died a few hours ago! He will wake up in the nick of time, I bet."

"But what if they take him?" Rose whispered, her eyes watering. She leaned forward and straightened the blankets— the only thing that she could do for the Doctor at the moment. Pressing her hand to his sweaty forehead, she continued. "I'm afraid. What if they come to take him before he wakes up, and we aren't able to stop them? We have to protect him this time, and I, I don't know what to do. I can't do anything for him!"

"You already did," Jack said, in a serious, quiet voice so unlike himself. Rose turned her tearful eyes to him. Mickey glanced out the window, noticing a flash of blue light sweeping across the city. He stepped out. Jack continued.

"At Satellite 5. Although you don't remember, Rose, you saved me. You saved the Doctor. Without you, he won't have regenerated; he would have died for sure. You did so much for him, Rose. Which is why he won't dare die on him. I won't let him." After a pause, he continued. "And I won't let others hurt him. Or you."

Never, Captain Jack Harkness muttered to himself. If he _was_ immortal, he was determined to make the best use of it. He'd come back from death and again to protect his team TARDIS. Yes, he would.

Rose was looking at him with wide eyes. She opened her mouth to ask something, but no words came out. And at that very moment, Mickey Smith burst into the house, panting. Jackie, startled, woke up, rubbing her eyes.

"What? What happened?" She asked, groggily looking around.

"Come out," Mickey said breathlessly. "You've got to see this!" With that, he stormed outside again. Jack and Rose quickly exchanged puzzled glances, and followed, too.

**DW*DW*DW*DW*DW**

Rose, Mickey and Jack stepped out, one by one. Noticing her friend tearfully calling after her boyfriend, Rose frowned. Again, she felt an ominous chill run up her spine.

"Sandra?" She asked.

"He won't listen. He's just walking. He won't stop walking!" Sandra cried out, sobbing, not knowing what to do. "There's this sort of light thing. Jason? Stop it right now! Please, Jason, just stop."

Jason didn't respond, but continued to walk forward. Rose followed him, but stopped midway to look down to the ground. Mickey and Jack joined her. They could see lots of people walking through the estate. A flash of blue light, again, she noted. What could it be? Alien technology?

"People are all lining up on the rooftops," Mickey commented. It was true. Rows and rows of people were gathering, flocking up the staircases. They heard nothing, they saw nothing, and it looked like no one would be able to stop them from jumping off the roofs.

"What should we do?" Jackie asked, pulling her coat tight and following them. Rose was at a loss. She hadn't seen this before, and the Doctor was still in a comatose state. Jack, on the other hand, was frowning, racking through his brain. He had seen this before. He had seen it! But where—

_Oh._

"Oh, wait, wait!" He bolted forward, grabbed Sandra by the shoulders, and flashed what he hoped was a reassuring (or charming, he didn't exactly mind) grin. "Hello, I'm Captain Jack Harkness. You don't have to worry—."

"_Jack,_" Rose groaned in exasperation. "Now is hardly the time…"

"No, no, really!" Jack shouted, swinging the poor, confused woman around and grinning like a lunatic. "You don't have to worry about them jumping off roofs. You can't hypnotize someone to death. All we have to do is wake them up!"

"You know what's going on?" Mickey asked, taken by surprise at how sure Jack seemed of himself. Jack nodded. Honestly, he was feeling a bit uncertain, but he wasn't going to let it show. Oh, never. Someone needed to be the Doctor, wasn't it so?

"Then, what do we do?" Rose asked in an urgent voice. Jack smiled inwardly, pleased to see the life spring back into her hazel eyes— _this_ was exactly what she needed. Knowing what was going on. Knowing what to do. Having a goal to accomplish. Running. A piece of 'normality'.

So, straightening up, he replied in a firm voice.

"Well then, let's carry out Plan No. 52-36!"

"What?" Jackie asked back, completely befuddled. Jack grinned.

"Oh, I made that up. Come on. The military isn't doing anything useful, which means that the Doctor is our best shot. We should keep him safe till he wakes up. That's our duty. Well then, let's move him to the safest place on Earth!"

"And where would that be?" Mickey asked. Jack paused to briefly look at him before hurrying into the Tyler's flat, his military greatcoat billowing out behind him.

"The TARDIS," he said.

**DW*DW*DW*DW*DW**

Harriet Jones was speaking onscreen as they bustled on and about, moving the limp, comatose body of the Time Lord and a few other supplies out of their flat.

"_But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request. Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me, Doctor… If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us. Help us._"

"Sorry," Rose muttered, feeling bad for her. "But this is the best I can do."

"Hurry!" Jack called out, carrying the Doctor's legs. Mickey huffed, holding the upper part of his body. Suddenly, all the glass in the block of flats shattered.

"Sonic wave! It's the spaceship. It's hit the atmosphere!" Jack cried out in alarm as all the non-possessed people turned to look. Rose kicked away the glass shards from her path, watching as the big powered rock with nasty pointy bits glided overhead, as big as Westminster. She turned halfway, and groaned when she caught sight of Jackie struggling with half a dozen carrier bags.

"Mum, will you just leave that stuff and give us a hand?"

"It's food! _He_ said we needed food," Jackie called back, pointing at Jack. He flinched.

"Oh, just… leave it!" Rose shouted, exasperated. She held open the TARDIS door for the two male humans and one Time Lord to enter. "And you two, move, _move_!"

They complied wordlessly. After settling the Doctor down in the pilot's seat, Mickey exhaled loudly and looked around. He walked up to the console and rhythmically tapped on it with his fingers.

"No chance you could fly this thing?" He asked hopefully.

Rose sighed, shaking her head. "Not anymore, no."

"Well, you did it before."

"I know, but it's sort of been wiped out of my head, like it's forbidden. Try that again and I think the Universe rips in half."

"Ah, better not, then."

"Maybe not." She agreed, then paused for a moment. "Where's Jack?"

"Captain Cheesecake?" He scoffed, shrugging towards the darkened corridors. "Mentioned something about looking for the med bay. And Tylenol. No idea."

"Right, and I have no idea what you're talking about. Honestly, can't you speak in proper English?" Jackie complained as she stepped into the Tardis. She handed Mickey a flask full of hot, steaming tea, and Rose a small cup, too. "Here we go. Nice cup of tea."

"Mmm, the solution to everything, isn't it?" Rose sighed in satisfaction, her tea-loving, British side taking over. Holding the cup in hand, she felt her body immediately relax as the familiar scent seeped into her nose. Jackie chuckled, tapping on her daughter's shoulders.

"Now, wait right here. I'll get the rest of the food."

"Tea. Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British." Mickey smiled, shaking the flask around to make a soft 'swishing' sound. Then he turned his attention to the scanner display screen attached to the console. Curiously, he pointed at it. "How does this thing work? If it picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there. Maybe we've surrendered. What do you do to it?"

"I don't know. It sort of tunes itself," Rose said, shrugging and taking a sip. She had no idea that, at this very moment, the Tardis was detected by the Sycorax. That right now, they were being beamed up onto their ship. She did notice, however, the odd pattern on the scanner.

"What's this?" She asked, carefully putting the cup down on the console.

"Maybe it's a distress signal," Mickey suggested, peering into the screen.

"Distress for what?" She asked, frowning. Mickey grinned mischievously at her.

"Maybe the Tardis knows that it will be stuck with your mum's cooking. That's enough to cause a distress for anyone. Or anything."

"Huh." Rose rolled her eyes. Then, standing up, she frowned. "By the way, where is she? I'd better give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there."

"Tell her anything from a tin, that's fine." Mickey joked. Rose put on a false look of utter seriousness as she looked at Mickey and suggested—

"Why don't you tell her yourself?"

Mickey immediately cowered back. He shook his head vigorously. "I'm not that brave."

"Oh, I don't know…"

Flashing a tongue-in-between-her-teeth grin at Mickey, Rose headed outside. And at the same moment, Jack suddenly rushed out from the corridors, holding a thick book in hand. He hesitated for a moment, then his stare locked onto the flask in Mickey's hand. Dropping the book, he lunged forward, snatched it from his hands, and started to tip its content into the Doctor's mouth.

"Hey!" Mickey protested, but Jack didn't falter. Instead, he was smiling from ear to ear like a 51st century lunatic. Deal done, he shook the empty bottle at him triumphantly.

"Tea!" He shouted, exuberant with joy. "It was tea. You know, the Doctor said that he needed a superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin, that he needed t-something. And I thought, oh, something starting with a 'T', what could it be? Tylenol? Thymus? So what I thought was, why don't I go to the med bay and look it up? And bam, here it is. Tea! The magic potion of health!"

"Are you sure?" Mickey asked dubiously.

"_Of course_ I'm sure," Jack huffed, proudly crossing his arms. "I'm sure that our Sleeping Beauty will be up and about in a minute or so. Where's Rose?"

At that very second, there was a scream outside. They both froze. It was Rose.

"Rose?" They shouted in unison, running out of the Tardis without a second thought— just in time to miss the sight of the Doctor sighing, almost in satisfaction, a larger mist of golden energy escaping his lips.

**DW*DW*DW*DW*DW**

"Get off! Get off me!" Rose yelled, struggling against the firm grip of the Sycorax. Mickey and Jack ran out from the Tardis. Rose's eyes widened in panic, in fear for _her Doctor_, and she screamed.

"The door! Close the door!"

Jack faltered for a second, then bolted right back, reaching the door and slamming it shut just before a Sycorax grabbed both him and Mickey. Sighing in defeat, he stepped back. The Sycorax were cheering. Meanwhile, Rose had escaped from a Sycorax, and ran straight towards Harriet Jones.

"Rose. Rose! I've got you. My Lord. Oh, my precious thing." She tightly embraced Rose, and then leaned forward to urgently whisper in her ears. "The Doctor, is he with you?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. Then, straightening up, she continued in a stronger, brighter voice. "Well, not yet. But it won't be long!"

"Thank God," Harriet sighed in relief, and Rose flinched. _I hope_, she added silently. The translator beeped, and Alex, Harriet's right hand man, as she had put it, glanced down. Hesitantly, he read it out loud.

"The yellow girl. She has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your planet."

"But she can't!" Harriet protested. Rose's heart dropped for a second, but she quickly regained her courage. After all, they had survived the Daleks. What could be worse?

"Yeah, I can," she announced.

"Don't you dare." Mickey hissed. At the same time, Harriet shook her head in worry.

"They will kill you!" She said weakly. Rose faltered for a moment, glancing at Jack. Worry was in his eyes, but at the same time, he was smiling at her. He gave an encouraging nod.

"Someone's got to be the Doctor," he said. "Do it, Rose. You can do it. I've got your back. It's worth a try."

"Thanks, Jack." Rose smiled back. Straightening her back, she turned to face the Sycorax, who were waiting for her to speak. She drew in a deep breath, and started in a confident voice.

"I address the Sycorax according to Article Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation. I command you to leave this world with all the authority of the Slitheen Parliament of Raxacoricofallapatorius, and the Gelth Confederacy as… as sanctioned by the Mighty Jagrafess! Now, leave this planet in peace! We are armed. Leave. In peace," she finished, emphasizing the word. Jack bit his lips in apprehension. The Sycorax were still for a second, then they all burst into laughter.

The translator beeped, and Alex looked down in alarm.

"You are very, very funny. And now you're going to die," he said.

"Leave her alone!" Harriet shouted.

"Don't touch her!" Mickey yelled, struggling. They were both held back, staring in helpless horror as the leader lifted his whip. It was crackling with energy. He was going to kill her.

That was when Jack broke free and jumped in front of Rose. The leader struck. There was a blinding flash of energy, and he collapsed into a heap of burnt, smoking bones. Rose screamed in horror and disbelief, sobbing, falling to her knees.

"No!"

Laughing, the Sycorax leader walked up to Rose.

"Did you think you were clever with your stolen words? Look at what happened. Another primitive human's death as an example. We are the Sycorax, we stride the darkness. Next to us you are but a wailing child. If you are the best your planet can offer as a champion—"

"_Then your world will be gutted_," the leader said. Alex repeated, staring at the translator.

"Then your world will be gutted…"

"_And your people enslaved._"

"Hold on, that's English." Alex said, glancing up in confusion. Harriet nodded, still holding Rose tight by the shoulders to offer what little comfort she could give.

"He's talking English," she said.

"_I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile!_" The leader spat out, obviously angered by the mere notion of it.

"That's English. Can you hear English?" Harriet said. Rose simply glanced up and nodded, glaring at the leader with tearful eyes.

"Yeah, that's English." Mickey piped up.

"Definitely English." Alex agreed.

"_I speak only Sycoraxic!_"

"Yeah, you know what? I bet you do," all of a sudden, a sarcastic, pained, _familiar_ voice spoke up loudly from behind. A voice that shouldn't exist in this world anymore. Gasping in shock, they spun around in its direction.

Captain Jack Harkness, who had been lying on the ground as a heap of burnt bones just a few minutes ago, was back to life and struggling to his feet, his face scrunched in pain, but smiling nonetheless.

"Jack?" Rose asked, hardly believing her eyes. Jack fully stood up, and flashed a charming grin at her, opening his arms wide to offer her a hug.

"The one and only," he said, smirking smugly. "Captain Jack Harkness at your service."

"But… but you were _dead!_" She exclaimed, her voice shaking. Hesitantly, she stepped forward. He waited patiently, and her faltering hand met his warm, solid, _alive_ shoulder. _Real_, Rose realized. He was really, really _real_. A sob caught in her throat as she hit Jack on the chest, over and over.

"Not anymore," Jack said, pulling her into a warm, comforting embrace, giving her an awkward pat on the back. He added softly. "It's complicated, Rose. Oh, well, turns out that the Doctor was right about a few things."

"The Doctor?" She asked, sniffing, a puzzled look in her eyes. Jack smiled tightly, nodding.

"Yeah. I'll explain later. Right now, let's take care of this." With that, he turned around to the Sycorax, who were watching him with mingled looks of hate and fear and awe. Jack shrugged and greeted them in a sarcastic voice. "Hello, again."

"_Witchcraft! You are an abomination, human!_" The leader spat out, taking a step back. "What_ are you?_"

"Yeah, maybe. But you know what, fellas? That shouldn't be your chief concern right now. Actually, you should be running. Running as fast as you can. Because you are in big, big trouble." Jack paused, grinning. Oh, this was fantastic. Just in the nick of time. "If I can hear English, then it's being translated. Which means it's working. Which means…"

Everyone turned to look at the Tardis. The door swung open, and there stood the Doctor, hands in his pockets, brown hair sticking up like crazy, fully clad in his stripy pajama glory.

"Did you miss me?" He said cheekily.

**A/N: This chapter was mainly about Jack helping Rose through her doubts about the Doctor, and their strong friendship. But trust me, the next one will be more Ten/Rose centric! :) Review for the next chapter!**


	5. The Christmas Invasion: Part Three

**A/N: Thank you for your affection :) The next chapter will be posted after I get seven reviews for this chapter :) Also, thank you, my dear beta reader, Anna O'Carrick, for contributing **_**so**_** much to my story's quality! Anyway, enjoy!**

**Chapter 5**

**The Christmas Invasion: Part Three**

The Sycorax leader roared in fury and cracked his energy whip, and Rose's breath hitched as the terrible scene of Jack crumbling to ashes replayed before her eyes. However, the Time Lord caught the end of the whip with ease and pulled it out of the leader's hand.

"You could have someone's eye out with that," he complained in an annoyed_, bored_ voice, even. Jack silently rolled his eyes. _Showoff,_ he grumbled under his breath.

"How dare!" The leader cried out angrily as the Doctor proceeded forward, and brandished a thick club. He simply grabbed it and broke it across his knee. Harriet Jones was watching him with a mixture of fear, confusion and awe, while Rose was smiling in relief. The Doctor flung the club away and pointed warningly at the Sycorax.

"You just can't get the staff. Now, you, just wait. I'm busy." With that, he walked away from the baffled, angry Sycorax leader and stopped in front of them, beaming. "Well, look who's here! Mickey, hello! Rose Tyler, fantastic as always! Haven't been hurt or injured, right? Good. And Captain Jack Harkness— nice job." His voice dropped lower as he leaned forward. He whispered, "_You_ kept Rose safe when I couldn't. Thank you."

"Anytime, Doc," Jack grinned back. "As I've said before, she's worth dying for. Ah, by the way, you were right about that. My immortality. Took the words right out of their mouth. Really, you should have seen their faces."

"Oh, really?" the Doctor murmured. He seemed to be in deep thought for a second, and then abruptly broke out of it, grinning. "Ah, and also thanks for the tea. Tea! That's all I needed, a good cup of tea! Just the thing for healing the synapses. I told you, Jack is absolutely brilliant. And I guess I've got to give Jackie Tyler a bit more credit for her cooking and tea-making."

"I don't have to buy you a drink anymore, right?" Jack joked back, and Rose giggled in amusement. The Doctor gave her a warm smile and wriggled his eyebrows playfully, and then spun around to greet Harriet with great enthusiasm.

"_Aaand_ if this isn't Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North! Blimey, it's like 'This Is Your Life'. Now, first thing's first." With that, he stepped away from the befuddled woman to face Rose. His face was more serious than ever before, a dark storm brewing within his pupils.

"Be honest, Rose." He said quietly, and Rose flinched, feeling oddly nervous about what was coming. For a split second, everyone was listening in tense silence. Finally, he opened his mouth and spoke.

"How do I look?"

Jack groaned. Oh, of course. This new, foxy Doctor was bound to be bloody _egocentric_. Of all the things he could have been concerned about, his (unnecessarily charming, Jack had to admit) looks _had_ to be his chief subject of concern. Mickey was staring at him in disbelief, while Rose was merely puzzled.

"Er, different." She said.

"Good different, or bad different?" The Doctor said, fidgeting with apprehension. _So_ like a schoolboy hopelessly in love. _Now you won't be able to deny it anymore_, Jack grinned inwardly. It was so openly visible that it was almost embarrassing.

"Just different," Rose said. Then, flashing a 'tongue-in-between-teeth' smile, she added playfully, "You look quite nice, though. Especially the hair."

The Doctor beamed at her for a second, but turned serious soon enough. It must have been the mention of his hair that triggered the thought. Anxiously, he asked Rose again.

"Am I… ginger?"

"Er… sorry, no, you're just sort of…" Rose racked her brain, desperately trying to find the right words. She came up with nothing. "Brown," she finished, sighing. Immediately, the Doctor's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"I wanted to be ginger. I've never been ginger. How unfair is that? Nearly ten lives, and I've never been ginger!" he whined, and then shot an accusatory glare at Mickey, brandishing his finger. "And you, Mickey Smith, fat lot of good you were. You gave up on me. Learn from Rose and Jack, won't you?"

"Doctor," Jack warned. The Doctor stepped back, startled at his own attitude.

"Oh, that's rude. Completely against the Christmas spirit. That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude. Rude and not ginger," he sighed. And that was when Harriet Jones decided that she could stand this… this bizarre situation no more. Who _was_ this strange, babbling man that stepped right out from the TARDIS and seemed to know all of them very well?

"I'm sorry. Who is this?" She asked in a challenging voice, pointing at the Time Lord. The Doctor stared at her, frowning, as if she had questioned the most obvious thing in the whole wide universe.

"I'm the Doctor," he said. Rose nodded eagerly in agreement.

"He's the Doctor."

"But… but what happened to my Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?" Harriet asked, her voice getting higher and higher; her glance fleeted from the Doctor to Rose and back again. Rose bit her lips and shrugged, not knowing what to say; it had taken a long time to convince herself, which made her unsure if she could convince the Prime Minister.

But then again, the only reason Rose had held back from this new Doctor was because she was scared for the old one— because she had cared so deeply for him. Her heart ached momentarily, but she sternly told herself that he was still the same person; he was, and always would be, 'the Doctor', her friend.

Not knowing Rose's complicated emotions, the Doctor stepped forward without any hesitation, and gazed straight into Harriet's eyes.

"I'm him," he said, pausing to emphasize each word and let it sink into the woman before him. "I'm literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything."

Jack noticed his gaze momentarily darting in the direction of Rose, lingering on her face for a split second, before turning his attention back to Harriet Jones again. Rose didn't notice, though. Harriet shook her head, feeling disoriented.

"But… but you can't be," she said, her voice weak. The Doctor stepped forward, and this time, his voice was firmer, more urgent, so much so that it reminded Rose of the old Doctor, the one with the big ears and a cranky smile, more than ever before.

"Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, and it wasn't the war," he said quietly. "It was the thought of your mother being on her own."

"Oh, my God," Harriet breathed, her eyes widening from shock and realization. "It's you. Doctor, you're really you."

The Doctor finally grinned, satisfied. "Did you win the election?"

"Landslide majority," she answered, beaming. Jack could see the tension ease from her features, replaced with feelings of joy and relief. She knew. She knew that now that the Doctor was here, everything will be okay. It was only a matter of time—

"_If I might interrupt!_" The Sycorax leader snarled, drawing their attention back to him. The Doctor waved mockingly and spoke in his distinctly unafraid, daring voice.

"Yes, sorry. I'm so confused right now that I forgot you were still here. Hello, big fellow."

"_Who exactly are you?_" The leader growled back. The Doctor snorted, shrugging.

"Well, that's the question, isn't it? They ask me all the time. Daleks, Sontarans…never mind."

"_I demand to know who you are!_" He roared, infuriated by the mocking tone of the Time Lord. The Doctor dropped his patience, spun around and hollered back in a thundering voice, mimicking the Sycorax leader.

"I— don't— know!" With that, he returned to his more serious tone and continued. "See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, and I really care about my friends, Earth, but beyond that, I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested."

He started walking, passing by Harriet, Mickey, Rose and Jack. "Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?" Rose and Jack exchanged quick smiles; they had both reached an unsaid agreement regarding the answer to the last question. The Doctor didn't notice, of course. Walking past the other Sycorax warriors, he went on with his incessant babbling.

"Right old misery? Life and soul? Right handed? Left handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob!" Mickey couldn't help but roll his eyes at how satisfied he sounded. The Doctor suddenly sprinted forward and bounded up the stairs, coming to a stop in front of the blood controller.

"And how am I going to react when I see this, a great big threatening button? A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right? Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix, hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?" The Doctor grinned knowingly as he threw open the base of the pillar under the button. He reached out and dipped his finger into the dark-colored liquid there, and held it back up. Peering at it closely, he hummed out loud.

"And what've we got here? Blood? Yeah, definitely blood. Human blood. A Positive, with just a dash of iron. Ah, but that means blood control. Blood control!" His face cracked into a loony grin. He continued in an overly bright_, delighted_ voice, even. "Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years. You're controlling all the A Positives. Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. _Because I really don't know who I am._"

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this…" Jack muttered his breath. The Doctor, of course, took no heed— or, rather, pretended so. His big, brown eyes were flashing dangerously as he babbled on.

"I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed, then I just want to do _this_." Clenching his teeth, he forcefully slammed his palm on the button.

"No!" Harriet gasped out in horror. Rose stared at him wordlessly. Right. No. That man was the Doctor, she was absolutely positive of that; and the Doctor cared about humans' lives more than anyone. Anyone. But then why did he hit that button?

_You don't have to worry about them jumping off roofs— You can't hypnotize someone to death._

Abruptly, Jack's voice rang out clear and loud in her ears. Rose's eyes widened for a split second in realization, and then she spun around to face Harriet.

"He saved them," she whispered in joy. "He woke them up. He saved them!"

"No, he didn't," Alex argued back. "You saw it. He pushed the button. He killed them!"

"He'd never do that," Jack announced firmly, every word ringing with unwavering trust. Rose nodded, squeezing his hand tight with her own. The Doctor flashed a grateful smile at his two faithful companions, and turned to question the Sycorax leader.

"What do you think, big fellow? Are they dead?"

The leader scowled, and unwillingly growled out, _"We allow them to live." _

"Allow? You've no choice!" the Doctor frowned and scoffed incredulously. "I mean, that's all blood control is. A cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis."

"Aww, that'll surely be a sight for sore eyes. Can't I use some blood control on you?" Jack whined, and Rose giggled a little at the idea of the Doctor walking like a chicken, singing like Elvis, or taking his pants off— _oh_. She gulped. _No, that wasn't a good idea. Not at all._

"Don't even dream of it, never works on the superior Time Lord physiology," the Doctor replied cheerfully. "Anyway, hypnotizing someone to suicide? Nope. Highly unlikely. Survival instinct's too strong."

"_Blood control was just one form of conquest_," the Sycorax leader spat out. "_I can summon the armada and take this world by force!"_

"Well, _yeah,_ you could, yeah, you could do that, of course you could." The Doctor scrunched his face in disdain, then leaned forward, his eyes as wide and earnest as possible. Every vowel, every syllable was savored by his tongue as he delivered his speech— Rassilon, he really _did_ have an amazing gob.

"But why? Look at these people. These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than… No, hold on." The Doctor shook his head and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, that's The Lion King."

"No way," Mickey groaned in disbelief, and Rose giggled. The Time Lord paused to wink at her, and continued smoothly, straightening his back.

"But the point still stands. Leave them alone!" He proclaimed, an air of utmost confidence surrounding him.

"_Or what?_" The Sycorax hissed contemptuously. The Doctor's eyes flashed dangerously, but his voice was still calm and controlled, which sent chills down the beholders' spine all the more.

"Good question, big fella. Or—" Abruptly, the Doctor pulled out a long sword from another Sycorax warrior standing by the side and ran back towards the TARDIS. He stopped right in front of the blue police box and spun around, holding the sword high up in the air.

"I challenge you!" he shouted.

The warriors burst into an incredulous laughter, and Rose glanced at him in worry; sure, the Doctor was absolutely brilliant, and no one could talk as he did. But man-to-man combat? With swords? She wasn't so certain about that. Jack licked his lips beside her, obviously feeling more than concerned as well.

The Doctor, however, was the very picture of confidence as he stood there, smirking.

"Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"

"_You stand as this world's champion?_" The Sycorax leered in a hissing voice. The Doctor shrugged.

"Thank you. I've no idea who I am, but you just summed me up," he said, casually walking up to Rose and handing her his dressing gown. He glanced back at the waiting crowd of the Sycorax, and bent forward to whisper in her ear.

"Don't worry. I've had some experience. Richard the Lionheart. Cyrano de Bergerac. Errol Flynn. He had the most enormous ego. Anyway, I've won every single one of them, and the point is…" If Rose hadn't known the Doctor, she would have said that he was embarrassed. Averting his eyes, he licked his lips nervously and finished quickly. "You don't have to worry."

"Okay," Rose whispered back, smiling a little. "Just… be careful, will you?"

"I'll try," the Doctor promised. Jack rolled his eyes in exasperation; they were like a blossoming couple— _anyone_ could see the all-too-sweet atmosphere between the two of them. And the only ones that didn't know were themselves! How depressing was that? It was something that Captain Jack Harkness, 51st century pheromones, the Master Flirter, couldn't understand in a million years.

"Don't get your hand cut off or something," he interjected crossly, and the Doctor straightened his back, a playful smile making its way to his lips. He winked at Rose and Jack.

"You'll see."

With that, he turned around and strode up to the leader, sword in hand. His eyes were fierce as he slammed the blade onto the ground and spoke out loud, in a challenging voice.

"So, you accept my challenge? Or are you just a _cranak pel casacree salvak_?"

The last part was unintelligible to the humans, but Rose thought that it must have been an insult for the Sycorax, for the leader scowled and made up his mind, taking out his own sword.

"_For the planet_?" he snarled. The Doctor prepared himself and repeated the words in agreement.

"For the planet."

That was it. The two champions, the Sycorax and the Doctor, rushed forward and clashed swords. They struggled in that position to gain the upper hand for a second, but it soon became clear that the Sycorax leader was stronger. He roared and gave a push, and the Doctor lost his balance and stumbled back, almost letting go of the sword in the process.

The Sycorax roared out and charged at the Doctor, and Rose cried out in alarm.

"Look out!"

She'd done that just in time. The Doctor ducked, narrowly avoiding being slain by the enemy, and gripped the hilt of the sword, balancing himself again. The Sycorax leader was the more experienced swordsman, for he had been trained for war since the moment he was born. He needed to pull some cleverer tricks to win this combat. He needed a larger space.

"Don't worry, Rose!" he said, sprinting through the crowd and retreating up a tunnel. "I've got it all under control!"

"Liar," Mickey muttered, but his jaw dropped as the Doctor slammed on a button, opening up an exit to the outside_. What's he doing?_

Having more knowledge of personal physical combat than the others, Jack nodded in approval at the Doctor's tactics. Smaller space made things harder for the less experienced, for it gave troubles to them when avoiding attacks. _Nice move, Doc_, he mused.

Glancing back at the Sycorax leader, who was stomping towards him, the Doctor called out in a loud voice.

"Bit of fresh air?"

And he dashed out into the daylight, his mind racing. All he knew for certain was that he had to win this fight, and he had to survive, too. For Earth. For humans. For Jack. For Ian, Barbara, Sarah Jane, the Brig, Jo Grant, Grace Holloway… and many others living somewhere down there.

And for Rose, of course.

Rose, Jack, Alex, Mickey and Harriet followed the other Sycorax soldiers out into the light. The Doctor was battling his opponent again, and Rose watched in horror as he got driven back to the edge, and was slammed on the nose forcefully. The Doctor staggered in pain, but when Rose instinctively started towards him to offer some help, he shook his head and shouted at her.

"Stay back! Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet."

Rose faltered in her step, and the Doctor wiped his nose. Then the Sycorax gave his sword a large swing, and the Doctor charged forward, too. They started exchanging blows again. Jack felt a little unnerved, but he couldn't help but notice that the Doctor was standing up against his opponent extremely well. He was showing some very good movements, keeping up nicely…

He immediately regretted thinking so when the leader knocked the Doctor down and slashed.

And Rose's breath hitched in shock as she saw the Doctor's hand being cut off, falling to Earth with the sword. The Doctor watched it disappear from his sight, then looked briefly at the stump that used to be his hand. Turning his head to stare at the Sycorax leader with wide eyes, he breathed out.

"You cut my hand off."

At that moment, Jack, shocked as he was, instantly _knew_ that there was something; one, there wasn't any pain in his voice, and not a single drop of blood was coming from his injured wrist. Two, you could never say anything for certain when it came to the Doctor's stupid Time Lord physiology.

"_Ya! Sycorax!_" Unaware of Jack's speculations, the leader brandished his sword high up in the air and cried out in triumph. The other warriors cheered in unison. But this fight was yet to end; Rose watched fearfully as the Doctor slowly got to his feet, slightly out of breath— but, to everyone's surprise, smiling.

"And now I know what sort of man I am," he declared, and the leader turned around to stare at him in puzzlement. The Doctor was literally radiating with triumph and pride as he continued, holding up his wrist. "I'm lucky. Because quite by chance I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle, which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do _this_."

With that, his hand started to restore itself— starting from the palm, and then the fingers, growing, lengthening… _back_. Mickey's jaw dropped, unable to conceal the amazement he was feeling at the moment. He had just spontaneously regrown his _hand_ on the spot, for God's sake!

"_Witchcraft_," the Sycorax hissed. The Doctor raised his eyebrows smugly.

"Time Lord," he corrected. Jack let out a long whistle, and Rose couldn't hide her smile as she spun around and quickly pulled a sword away from a nearby Sycorax warrior.

"Doctor!" she shouted in joy, and threw him the sword. The Doctor neatly caught the sword by the hilt and winked at her in delight.

"Oh, you brilliant girl! Nice job. Fantastic. No, don't like saying that too much anymore. Wait, wait, wait, wait… oh, I get it." He grinned widely at her, and it made her heart jump. "_Allons-y, Rose Tyler!_"

Rose had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but it had a nice ring to it—she returned a warm smile. The Doctor turned back to the Sycorax leader and wriggled his fingers playfully.

"Want to know the best bit?" He grinned in excitement. "This new hand? It's a _fightin' hand!_"

They started fighting again, and the sound of them clashing swords drowned out Jack's annoyed groaning— seriously, did he have to use a terrible, poorly exaggerated American accent to say that? Really?

But he couldn't really complain, for the Doctor quickly overpowered and disarmed the Sycorax leader, completing his task. The Time Lord thumped both hilts into his opponent's abdomen, twice. He fell right on the edge, and the Doctor prevented him from getting back up by pointing the blade his sword at the leader's neck.

"I win," he said darkly. The Sycorax glared back.

"_Then kill me,_" he ground out. The Doctor shook his head.

"I'll spare your life if you'll take this Champion's command. Leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?"

Having no choice, the leader spat out reluctantly. "_Yes_."

The Doctor was unwavering. "Swear on the blood of your species," he commanded.

"_I swear._"

"There we are, then." The darkness in his eyes disappeared as he smiled and flung away his sword. He started walking towards the waiting crowd. "Thanks for that. Cheers, big fellow."

"Bravo!" Harriet Jones, impressed beyond words, started clapping. Jack grinned joyously and decided to join in. Clapping alongside, he cheered.

"That says it all. Bravo!"

"Thank god," Rose sighed in relief and rushed forward, and the Doctor wriggled his eyebrows at her as he let her help him put on the dressing gown.

"Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams, isn't it?" He commented, and she gave him her special 'tongue-in-between-teeth' grin. The Doctor smiled back and continued. "Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man. Hold on, what have I got in here?"

Frowning, he groped in his pockets and found a…

"A satsuma," he said incredulously, furrowing his eyebrows. "Ah, that friend of your mother's. He does like his snacks, doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas? You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?"

As he babbled on, the Sycorax leader got up, grabbing his sword and running towards them. Jack's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to warn him, but it was unnecessary. The Doctor knew what was happening behind his back— superior Time Lord senses, of course.

He almost threw the satsuma at a control pad on the spaceship hull. That would have opened up a part of the wing, making the Sycorax fall far, far down to the ground below, killing him instantly. He almost said that _there was no second chances, _that_ he was that sort of a man._

But he _wasn't_ that sort of man.

When he had regenerated, Rose and Jack had never given up on him. They had trusted him, in spite of his different face and quirks; they had done their best to protect him. They had given him a second chance with them.

So he decided to be a better man.

Turning around, he pointed at the Sycorax leader, his eyes flashing like a fierce storm, like fire and ice and rage. His voice rang out cold and loud.

"_Stop!_ The fight is over. You have sworn on your people's blood; obey the word of the champion."

The Sycorax froze on his spot, unable to move an inch as his words and his blood bound him. The Doctor stared down at him coldly, and the leader's jaw quivered— even though his eyes were full of resentment and hatred for the Time Lord, he couldn't help but feel fear as the Oncoming Storm stood over him. Slowly, slowly, he dropped onto his knees. Roaring out in vain for one last time, he dropped his sword.

"There will be no third chances," the Doctor warned, his gaze unwavering and his voice calm and carefully controlled. But anyone could see the deadly fury just below. "Remember. I'm that sort of a man. I forgive once, but not twice. Let's go, Rose."

With that, he turned away and walked down the stairs. Rose, Jack, Mickey and Harriet hurriedly followed. From afar, they could hear the leader's howl of fury and defeat echo in the tunnel.

The Doctor was firmly staring down an entire army of Sycorax as he made his speech.

"By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential— when you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this_. It. Is. Defended_."

The moment his words came to an end, the TARDIS, Harriet, Alex, Rose, Mickey and the Doctor were beamed away. The Sycorax seemed to be more than eager to get away from them— and this well-defended planet of humans.

ㅇ

Rose blinked away the disorienting feeling that came from the sudden teleportation, and asked in confusion, looking around, "Where are we?"

"I've got absolutely no idea," Jack said, grinning. "I'm a 51st-century American from the Boeshane Peninsula, after all. And London didn't look like this during the World War Two. What about you, Mickey? Got anything to say?"

Mickey's eyes widened as he looked around. He shouted joyfully, "We're just off Bloxom Road. We're just round the corner, we _did_ it!"

With that, they immediately started jumping around and whooping in excitement. The Doctor frowned up at the sky, and backed away.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," he said, holding them in place. They went quiet for a moment, and looked up. Standing there, they watched together as the Sycorax spaceship flew away. A huge smile lit up Rose's face. It was really, truly over! The Doctor had come back, and he'd done it again!

"Go on, my son! Oh, yeah!" Mickey yelled at the retreating spaceship, brandishing his fist in the air. Rose joined in, laughing along.

"Yeah! Don't come back!"

"It is defended!" Jack shouted, and the three of them embraced each other, still laughing in joy. Then Rose turned to hug Alex. In fact, she was in such a good mood that she could have hugged anyone. Even something all green and alien-y like a Slitheen. Oh, whatever!

The Doctor stood afar, then nodded at Harriet, who approached him with a warm, genuine smile on her face. "My Doctor," she greeted him. He smiled back.

"Prime Minister."

They hugged for some time, and soon enough, she drew back and looked up at him, beaming.

"Absolutely the same man," she declared.

"Thank you." The Doctor said, and glanced at Rose Tyler, who was waving at her mother joyfully. He dearly hoped that her thought was the same too. Of course, he knew that she had stayed with him through the Game Station, the regeneration, and the most dynamic Christmas ever, but still, there was a nagging fear in his heart that somehow he would disappoint her, and she would leave.

_No, that would never happen,_ he admonished himself. He would never let himself disappoint his brilliant Rose Tyler. He would do his best to even outdo Big Ears. He would…

"Are there many more out there?" Harriet spoke up, gazing at the faraway sky, abruptly pulling him out of his contemplations. The Doctor let his jaw hang open for a second, and then snapped it shut and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species. _Thousands_ of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day you're sending out probes and messages and signals. This planet's so noisy. You're getting noticed more and more. You'd better get used to it," he said, frowning. Harriet nodded wordlessly.

They stood like that for a few more seconds in silence, and the Doctor turned around to look when he heard the ever-so-loud voice of Jackie Tyler, who was running to her precious daughter.

"Rose!"

"Mum!" Rose laughed and hugged her, and Jackie swung her around, literally jumping in joy.

"Oh, my God! You did it, Rose! Oh!"

"You did it too," the Doctor said, shrugging. They turned to look at him, and he smiled warmly as he continued. "Jack fed me your tea. That was all that I needed, a fabulous cup of Jackie Tyler tea. Fixed my head."

"I said so," Jackie immediately retorted. Then she eyed him up and down, frowning suspiciously. "Is it him, though? Is it really the Doctor? And oh my God, is that the bleeding Prime Minister?!"

"Of course, mum," Rose said, rolling her eyes. The Doctor felt his heart flutter with warmth at the sureness, the confidence in her voice. She believed in him. She knew that he was the Doctor, that he was always the same man. He grinned from ear to ear, and pulled Jackie forward.

"Come here, you," he said playfully. And they hugged. Mickey, Rose, and Jack all joined in, hugging and laughing in joy. Like a family. Like an old, proper family that he hadn't had for a long time, not after the War… no, he wasn't going to think about the Time War. He'd let himself fall into the blissful happiness and some domestic comfort that these humans gave him, at least just for today.

"Are you better?" Jackie asked, pulling away and eyeing him up and down again, this time out of motherly instincts.

"Absolutely fantastic," the Doctor grinned. Jack watched them exchange some jokes and playful conversation with fondness, and walked a few steps away. By doing that, he accidentally overheard Alex answering a phone call. He murmured something urgently, and put down the phone to look at Harriet Jones.

"It's a message from Torchwood. They say they're ready," he said. Harriet glanced back at the Doctor hesitantly, as if debating with herself what to tell the people on the other end. Alex put a little more emphasis in his words, trying to urge her into speaking.

"They might come back, ma'am. I say you should give orders."

"You're trying to blow them up, aren't you," Jack spoke up loudly from behind, realizing what they were talking about. Harriet turned around in surprise. Jack shook his head.

"You shouldn't. You really shouldn't."

"Why not?" she inquired, and it was more of a challenge than a question. Jack's lips set into a serious, rigid line.

"They are _leaving_," he answered quietly. "They aren't coming in for another attack. Blasting them into dust would be murder, not defensive tactics. The Doctor wouldn't like it. And trust me, he can be very, very scary when he is furious."

"Prime Minister," Alex spoke. Harriet held up her hand.

"Just a moment, Alex," she said. She looked up at Jack, and shook her head.

"I can't help it if he doesn't like it. What I was about to give permission to was adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago. The Doctor said himself that they would go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. In which case we have to defend ourselves. Britain's golden age comes with a price."

"The human race…..."

"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf," she said, and this time, Jack shook his head. His eyes were grim.

"No, I mean the future human race. Britain's golden age might come with a price, but it will come to pass someday. And it did. I'm from the future, the 51st century, and I'm imploring you, ma'am. Someday, the aliens will come back, and humans will have to coexist with them. If not for the Doctor, do it for them. Help them go through it peacefully. Don't give the orders— don't kill them. Let the Sycorax leave and tell the others. That Earth is defended. That they shouldn't make war, but peace, with the humans." Jack paused, and then added, "Please."

Harriet's eyes were full of conflicted emotions, and her mouth quivered a little. She turned around halfway, and spoke to Jack in a quieter voice.

"I'm sorry, but you three are not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn and the Major, they were murdered. They died right in front of me while the Doctor was sleeping." A beat. Her voice rose slightly in agitation. "What should I do next time he's not here? We have to defend ourselves, and…"

"You can call us," Jack said, his earnest gaze unwavering, never leaving Harriet's face. "The Doctor might not carry a phone around the entire time, but Rose does. I can give you her number. Call us. Ask for help. We have the best time-and-space traveling police box in the entire universe. We will be there before you can even blink, Prime Minister."

Their gaze met briefly, and finally, Harriet Jones gave him a quick nod. Having made her decision, she gave her order to Alex in a firm voice.

"I know I might regret this….. but the war is over. Tell them to cancel the attack."

Alex hesitated, but nodded, too. He picked up his phone and spoke into it. "Plan canceled. Do not fire. Repeat, do not fire."

Harriet turned back to face Jack. "I hope you keep your promises, Captain."

"Thank you," Jack said, smiling. Then he quickly took out a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled the number of Rose's superphone on it and handed it to her. "We'll always be there for you," he promised. "And the Doctor won't be sleeping next time. I give you my word, ma'am."

"Again, thank you. Now I guess I should go have a press meeting," she sighed. "I wonder what we should say about all this. The hardest thing about being a Prime Minister is making things up. Anyway, have a merry Christmas."

"You too, Prime Minister." Jack winked at her, and Harriet started walking away, Alex trailing behind her. He stood still for a moment, staring at her back in relief— he'd _done_ it, he'd stopped her from blowing up those aliens— until Rose called after him from afar, unaware of what just happened.

"Jack! Aren't you coming?"

"Oh, I am!" Captain Jack Harkness startled and flashed a grin at her, purely out of reflex. Of course, he _was_ coming. With the Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS, as it should be. But he had something important to do before he went to join them.

"I can't believe that the Doctor forgot his damn _hand,_" Jack muttered under his breath before tapping on his Vortex Manipulator. It beeped, projecting a hologram of a map with a bright dot in the middle. There it was. He had to retrieve it before some other stupid humans did. As he'd said before, a single bottle of a Time Lord's blood could change an entire human history. And he couldn't even imagine what a whole _hand_ could do. Which was why he had some work to do.

Jack started running, his military greatcoat billowing out behind him. The crisp, cool air of a Christmas morning greeted him. He grinned to himself, feeling great.

Everything was going to be fine. Forever.

ㅇ

The Doctor was picking himself a new outfit in the TARDIS wardrobe. He momentarily considered the outfit that Casanova had given to him as a gift, but shook his head. Too much of Jack's taste. Downright appalling. His scrutinizing gaze casually swept over an old hat stand with a long scarf on it. He didn't feel like wearing it— he wasn't at all like his fourth regeneration when it came to fashion.

It was then when he found a brown pinstripe suit and a long brown coat. He immediately liked it. To make things even better, it was one of those coats that had two bigger-on-the-inside pockets.

He pulled it out from the wardrobe and put it on. Ooh, this body was slim, but these clothes were just the right size. Must have been the work of the TARDIS. Thanking her silently, he spun around once in front of the mirror, judging his outlook. Okay, fine, nice, great… quite handsome, actually— wellll, at least far better than Big Ears…

_Would Rose like his new look?_

The Doctor startled and immediately withdrew, sputtering at himself quite incredulously. This was getting ridiculous. He was acting so like a common lovesick schoolboy, no, he was a Time Lord, he was above this kind of—!

"Having an inner conflict?"

The Doctor almost jumped on the spot, and groaned in annoyance when he saw Jack standing in the doorway, smirking in amusement. Of course. It had to be Jack. Captain Jack Harkness that went with the subject of 'flirting' like bees went with honey. He wasn't tempted at all to ask him for a good piece of advice. Of course not.

"What makes you think so?" He shot back, almost too sharply. Jack waggled his eyebrows, putting a transparent glass case containing the Doctor's severed hand down on the console.

"You seriously don't know?"

"What?"

Jack smirked smugly and crossed his arms.

"You were thinking out loud, Doc."

…_Oh. _

Jack started roaring with laughter as the Doctor flushed bright red.

**DW*DW*DW*DW*DW**

Mickey, Rose and Jackie were back at the flat having Christmas dinner. Mickey had just carved out a good chunk of turkey when the Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness entered by the door. Rose grinned up at them and waved, and Jack waved back cheerfully.

"What on earth were you doing?" She asked as the two of them sat in front of the table, joining her family for a good Christmas meal. She frowned. "And why are you all reddish, Doctor? Did you have a drink or something?"

"Something equivalent of that," he muttered darkly. Jack rolled his eyes, and smiled cheekily at Rose Tyler.

"He just had a conversation with me."

"Oh, I understand." Rose grinned. "Here, have this."

She passed him the crackers. The Doctor eyed them curiously, and soon enough, he was back to his old self—cheerful, talkative, babbling and ever so curious. Thus the dinner progressed into the night, peaceful and joyous. They all started laughing their heads off when the Doctor's cracker revealed to hold a pink crown.

He groaned. "Oh, that's yours," he said, handing it to Rose. She squealed in delight.

"It's pink! Mum, it should be yours."

Mickey grinned as Jackie Tyler was half-forced into wearing the pink crown. He glanced at the TV without thinking. And that's when he noticed a familiar figure. "Look, it's Harriet Jones," he said, pointing at the screen. The Prime Minister, Harriet Jones, was speaking with the press.

"Prime Minister, who is the Doctor that you've mentioned earlier? You have asked for his help in a time of crisis. Can you tell us the reason?" A male reporter in the front row asked, and everyone in the room stared at the Doctor. He got up onto his feet and put on a pair of spectacles to watch the interview.

"He's our defender," Harriet stated, not being too specific, but Rose noticed a warm smile floating onto her lips. "He's our dear friend that most of us don't know about. Today, the human race had come into contact with an alien race for the first time, and it could have turned into a war. It was he who stopped them; it was his friend who stopped us from attacking back. Thanks to him, we could make peace with those living somewhere out there."

She smiled, this time at the screen. "The Doctor will always be our savior, and I'll forever thank him."

The Doctor grinned back at the screen, even though he knew she wouldn't be able to see him. Harriet Jones and the Britain's golden age. _Fantastic woman_, he mused. At that very moment, Jackie's phone started ringing. He watched her answer the call, chatter away excitedly for some time, and lower the phone and beckon them forward towards the door.

"It's Bev ," she announced. "She says go and look outside."

"Why?" The Doctor asked, confused, as Jackie pulled him and Rose along. Mickey and Jack hurriedly got up from their seats and followed them, looking equally as confused. Jackie Tyler shrugged and chastised him impatiently.

"I don't know, just go outside and look. Come on, shift!"

It was snowing. At least, it looked like it was snowing. The ground was covered with beautiful white flakes falling from the sky, and streaks of light were crossing the night sky like shooting stars.

"Oh, it's beautiful," Rose breathed. The Doctor smiled; even after seeing the wonders of the universe, Rose Tyler still had the ability to marvel at the everyday beauties of life. She looked up at him, her eyes shining like stars themselves. "What are they, meteors?"

"I made it," the Doctor announced proudly. Rose stared at him in surprise. "Oh, basic atmospheric excitation. Simple. Don't be so surprised."

"What did you make it snow for?" Jack asked, frowning, stepping forth to join them. He looked up at the sky. Snowflakes… well, it did look good, he had to admit. He didn't have much of this in his own time.

"This is a brand-new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now. Everyone saw it. Everything's new. That deserved some celebration," the Time Lord declared. After a moment's consideration, he added. "Well, and it's Christmas, too. Bah. Whatever. Nice, isn't it?"

"Wonderful," Rose and Jack chorused at the same time, and the three of them simultaneously burst out laughing. Well, it was coming back together. Team TARDIS, unbeatable… fantastic. Same old life. As it always should be.

"I reckon we must be mad, the three of us," Jack said, chuckling. "We're going to go looking for trouble, endangering our own lives, and I'm already excited."

"But that's the point, isn't it?" Rose nodded happily. "There's just so much out there. So much to see. I've got to. Plus, we _are_ going to save planets and worlds too. Isn't that worth it?"

"Of course. Molto bene! Trouble's just the bits in-between." The Doctor grinned, putting his arms around Rose's and Jack's shoulders. "It's all waiting out there, Jack Harkness, Rose Tyler, and it's brand new to me. All those planets, and creatures and horizons… even I haven't seen them yet! Not with these eyes. And it is going to be _fantastic._"

They smiled at the familiar catchphrase. The Doctor was always the same man, and they knew it.

"So, where're we going to go first?" Jack asked. The Doctor's brows furrowed as he sucked on his lower lip, trying to make up his mind.

"Er, that way." He pointed up to the left, but abruptly changed his mind. "No, hold on. That way."

His face lit up in excitement as he pointed to the right. Their next destination. New Earth.

"That way?" Jack asked, his face bright as well. Rose smiled and leaned into the warmth of her two boys.

"Yeah, that way," she agreed. And the snows twinkled brightly in the starlight, singing of their unwritten journey, the future that had been changed and would be given to them, changed by the presence of a certain immortal Captain that could have been abandoned on the Game Station. And it was going to be _fantastic__._

**A/N: Cheesy, I know, forgive me. I'm just not very good at writing. Anyway, review! :) Next chapter will include a conversation between the Doctor, Jack and Rose on the TARDIS, and their first adventure on New Earth. And I promise you, it's going to be… **_**fantastic. Haha. **_

**B/N: Hey y'alls, I'm Anna, the new beta for this story! (See, A/N is Author's Note, so B/N is Beta's Note… I'm such a genius.) Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself. Love you all and thank you for reading! -A**

**A/N (for Anna, this time) : Sorry, Anna, for personal reasons, I have been forced into posting this fanfic today :( I really wanted to wait for you… I'm practically sobbing out loud right now. Oh, and thank you so much! I've been amazed out of my wits at how carefully you read my story. Really. Your grammatical skills and the amount of work that you put into this story… it's practically outstanding. Brilliant. Molto bene. In short, I love you! :) **

**I live in Korea— the good thing about that is, I've learned the correct usage of semicolons in my English class. The bad thing is that I'm not that good at English, especially grammar. Where do you live? I used to live in Irvine, California… Anyway, call me 'Spero' from now on! **


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